Hush Little Baby, Don't You Cry
by MyPartnerInCrime
Summary: Kurt Hummel, a single dad with a crappy job and a sad story. Could happy, child loving, puppy-like Blaine Anderson be just the thing he needs? Rated T for mild swearing.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello =)  
**

**Just a little something I've been working on, hope you like it!  
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**Disclaimer: Glee ain't mine, yo!  
**

* * *

"No, no, honey, not in your mouth!" yelped Kurt, gently taking the envelope he'd carelessly left on the coffee table out of the toddler's grasp as he balanced the cordless phone between his ear and shoulder. He wiped the letter on his trousers with only a slight wince, offering a small brown plastic cow to the whimpering toddler.

"_Hello?_" came the female voice from the receiver.

"Hi, Carole, it's me," replied Kurt, adopting a cheerful voice.

"_Hey, Kurt! What can I do for you?_"

"I'm really sorry, Carole, but what are you doing this evening?" Kurt bit his lip.

"_I'm free as a bird_," assured Carole.

"Would you be able to look after Matthew for a couple of hours? They've asked if I can do a late shift and I'd love you forever and ever if you could!"

"_Of course, Kurt. I'm not going to give up an opportunity to bond with my grandson,_" chuckled Carole.

"You're a lifesaver," sighed Kurt. "Could I drop him off at about five?"

"_Of course,_" agreed Carole. They quickly discussed food and sleep for the toddler before Kurt had to hurriedly hang up because Matthew had made a mess in his nappy and was then trying to pull it off.

With a sigh Kurt picked up the tiny boy and peeked into his nappy, when he saw something brown he reluctantly placed the toddler on the changing table. He undid the nappy and frowned. Lying inside Matthew's nappy was a small brown plastic cow.

O

"Thank you so much, I'm so grateful," babbled Kurt as he handed over his son to his father and stepmother.

"It's no trouble," said Carole with a smile, balancing Matthew on her hip. "I've set up the spare cot already, so don't worry about getting back late."

"Oh God, I still owe you for that cot," reminded Kurt, rubbing his temple.

"Oh no you don't, you silly man. I won't hear another word about it. Now go," she shooed him away with an amused smile.

"I-no-fine, we'll talk later," huffed Kurt. He pressed a kiss to Matthew's forehead, gently stroking his cheek. "See you later, Mattie." Before Matthew could start crying and convinced him to stay, Kurt turned back to the front door, car keys in hand.

O

When he came back it was nearly midnight, with drooping eyelids and a sauce stain on his white shirt. As he opened the door he heard the unrelenting wailing of his son. Carole was cradling the crying toddler on her lap, cooing soft words as the TV quietly played colourful cartoons. She turned around and spotted Kurt.

"Kurt, I'm sorry, he woke up crying and I couldn't get him back to sleep again," she said over the sobs.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry, Carole," Kurt apologised, moving to sit next to the pair, reaching out for Matthew.

"Don't be silly," murmured Carole with a smile, handing over the toddler. As soon as Matthew was in his father's arms he instantly started to quieten, clutching to Kurt's stained shirt and whimpering softly.

"Hey there, shh," mumbled Kurt, circling his arms protectively around his son. "What have you been doing to poor Grandma, hmm?"

Matthew let go of Kurt's shirt with one tiny hand to point at Carole and say, "Mah!"

"Yes, that's Grandma. And you, young sir, have been rather noisy, haven't you?" Matthew looked up at him with big round watery eyes. He brought his hand back to rub at his eye with a small fist, scrunching up his face to yawn. "Okay, I think it's bed time for you," decided Kurt, standing up with Matthew on his hip. He turned back to Carole, "Thank you so much, I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"It's really no trouble at all. Trust me, Finn was worse," chuckled Carole. With a small giggle Kurt turned and walked up the stairs to his old bedroom which now held a wooden cot.

When Kurt tried to put Matthew down into the small cot, the toddler would not let go, clutching to Kurt's shirt with a wild look in his eyes. "Dah!"

"Alright, alright," sighed Kurt. He turned instead to put Matthew down in his own bed, gently prising the little fists off his shirt before quickly changing into tracksuit bottoms and an old Beatles shirt. As he slid under the covers Matthew snuggled into his side and Kurt hugged him close, his fingers playing with the soft hair of the toddler.

Kurt was just drifting to sleep when Matthew uttered a loud, "Muh?", reaching up to pull at Kurt's ear.

"Go to sleep, Mattie," groaned Kurt.

"Uh!"

Kurt hummed quietly, returning to stroke Matthew's hair. Soon enough both of them were snoring softly.

O

"Kurt, sweetie, wake up for a second." The kind voice just about registered in Kurt's mind.

"Nrghhh?"

"Do you have work today?"

Kurt blinked his eyes open to see Carole sitting on the edge of his bed. He realised she was waiting for an answer.

"Uh, no," he replied thickly, blinking against the morning light. "Where's Matthew?"

"He's downstairs with your father," reassured Carole. "You sleep for a bit longer." Kurt nodded and tucked his head back into the pillow.

When he next awoke it was to the smell of something delicious and, with stomach growling, Kurt decided to make his way downstairs. As he turned into the kitchen he saw Carole sliding a pancake on top of an already reasonable pile from a frying pan.

"Please tell me I can have one of those," moaned Kurt, sliding into one of the kitchen chairs.

"You can have all of these if you like," grinned Carole, picking up the plate and setting it down in front of the young adult.

"Well...maybe not _all_ of them...I can't let myself go..." hesitated Kurt. Ten minutes later he was sitting in front of an empty plate.

"Ugh, Carole. These are so much better than the ones at the Diner. You should be working there, not me!" He chuckled, rubbing his tummy.

"How's that going, by the way? Apart from the ridiculous shifts?"

"Ugh," groaned Kurt, tempted to throw his forehead to the table. "It's tacky and verging on claustrophobic and I swear all the grease is ruining my skin and the uniform style _seriously_ needs revising."

"Oh, sweetie," comforted Carole, taking away his dirty plate and stroking his bed hair from his forehead. "It'll get better."

"Maybe," sighed Kurt. Before more could be said, Matthew crawled into the kitchen, pushing a small firetruck in one hand.

"Dah!" he exclaimed in excitement when he saw Kurt. He crawled over to the chair and plonked backwards onto his bottom before holding both arms up to his father. Kurt couldn't help smiling, reaching down to pick up Matthew under his armpits and place him on his lap. "Dah!" he squealed again.

"Has he actually said Daddy yet?" asked a bright-eyed Burt from the doorway.

"Not yet, that's as close as it gets," replied Kurt, smiling at his own father before turning to his son. "Can you say 'Daddy'? Say 'Daddy', Matthew. 'Dah-Dee'."

"Dah!" repeated Matthew before mumbling in some form of baby language, consisting of mainly vowels.

"I remember your first word, Kurt," chuckled Burt, joining his son and wife at the kitchen table.

"What was it, again?" asked Carole with curiosity.

"Shoe." The three adults laughed, Matthew joining in with a happy gurgle.

"How predictable of me," sighed Kurt with an amused smile, pressing a kiss into Matthew's hair.

O

Later that afternoon, with Matthew strapped into his baby seat and his boot laden with tupperware boxes filled with assorted goodies courtesy of Carole, Kurt started his car. He waved goodbye to his parents as he drove out of the drive, mouthing one last 'thank you' as he went.

He didn't often need to enlist the help of his stepmother to look after Matthew. In the mornings he would take Matthew to playgroup, then go to work, working through his lunch time shift in order to get back in time to pick Matthew up. But the previous night his boss had rung him and explained they desperately needed someone to take the evening shift, and also, Kurt reasoned, he did need the money.

Kurt glanced in the center mirror to see Matthew fast asleep, his head lolled to one side and rested on the side of his seat. Kurt smiled fondly. The small boy meant so much to him.

* * *

**Hello again =D**

**Okay, I have more of this written, but I won't put it up unless you tell me you like it! Otherwise there ain't much point ;)  
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**So please please please tell me what you think? It would mean a lot!  
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**Next chapter we meet Blaine! (Is that an incentive? xD)  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Guyss! Thank you so much for the reviews! I wasn't expecting so many! =D In my joyous state I have uploaded a new chapter!  
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**Disclaimer: Glee totes ain't mine, dudes.  
**

* * *

The next morning Kurt got himself and Matthew ready to go by eight o'clock, just like every weekday. Except he was five minutes late and Matthew was crying. Loudly. And taking his socks off to throw across the room.

"Hey now, shh," cooed Kurt as he attempted to put the boy's socks back on. "You love playgroup, remember?" Kurt stood up, picking a screaming Matthew up and took a deep breath. "Right," he mumbled. "Where are my keys?"

He hurried into work only slightly late, receiving a disapproving look from his boss. He tied his apron on and quickly went into the bathrooms, walking over to the sinks and resting his forehead on the cool mirrors.

"Hey, dude," said a voice behind him. Kurt whirled round.

"Kathy? What are you doing in the men's toilet?" demanded Kurt, slightly breathlessly from the shock.

"Ugh, the women's is mingin'," shrugged Kathy, washing her hands in the sink next to Kurt. She turned to him, vaguely noticing his mood. "'Sup?"

Kathy had flunked the last year of High School and was now working in the Diner with Kurt. She had no idea where she was going in life, but she honestly didn't seem that concerned. She was a 'live every day as it comes' kinda gal and really was quite sweet when she put her mind to it.

"Are you getting divorced?" Kathy asked a confused Kurt. "Cos me mum looked like that last year when she got sick of me dad and kicked him out."

"No, I'm not married."

"Oh, just a break up then?"

"Not everything is about relationships you know, Kathy," sighed Kurt.

"Sure it is. I've got it all figured out now. I'm gonna marry some rich dude and live in a big fancy house with ponies and shit. That way, I don't have to do no work, an' I'm not lonely, like," said Kathy, shrugging. "Cos I reckon that's the worst, you know. Bein' lonely."

"Yeah..." agreed Kurt, swallowing the lump in his throat.

There was a rather awkward silence where they both stared at their reflections.

Suddenly the door burst open to reveal a tall woman with a face like a hawk. "Come on ladies! Get to it!" she growled before turning on her heel and letting the door bang closed behind her. Kurt sighed heavily.

"Aw, don't be depressed, dude. You ain't really a lady," chirped Kathy, misinterpreting his sigh.

"Thanks," said Kurt morosely.

As they excited the bathroom Kathy said, "Hey, you seen the new shop next door?"

Kurt's brow furrowed as he tried to recall what was next door. "Er, no...what is it?"

"It's like some wacky music shop or summin. I'm gonna go over on my lunch break and see if there are any cute rich guys."

"Right," nodded Kurt, not really listening.

"I was thinking. When I find my rich guy, I'll get pregnant with his child, an' then he can't leave, right? It's like his duty to stay or summin, right?" continued Kathy.

"You'd think," mumbled Kurt bitterly.

"Besides. Babies are cute," she concluded.

"Kurt! Kathy!" yelled their hawk-faced boss. "We're opening in five minutes! Get your arses over here!"

* * *

The morning was filled with a variety of customers, including an extremely rude business man and a sickeningly sweet couple that made Kurt's stomach twist slightly. At twelve o'clock Kathy left for her lunch break, sauntering over to the music shop next door while Kurt continued to serve customers their greasy, yet strangely appealing, dishes.

"Hey! Kurt! Look, I found some arm candy!" called Kathy, returning at the end of her lunch break with three young men following with amused expressions. "This is Nick," she gestured to the average height man with dark brown hair. "Blaine," she pointed to the shortest of the three with dark curls, who waved and grinned charmingly. "And my personal favourite, Jeff." She linked her arm around the tall blonde man's elbow, winking at him.

"Hmm, I think you might be a bit young," teased Kurt with an eyeroll.

"What? No way. I'm eighteen, so it's totally legal," protested Kathy, smirking up at Jeff. "Anyway, I convinced 'em to come here for lunch," she concluded. "Look at me, bringin' in the business."

"What can I get you gentlemen?" Kurt addressed the three young men. Jeff and Nick ordered first, then let Kathy lead them to a table. "And you?" he turned to the curly haired one, Blaine, realising in the back of his mind that his eyes were practically melted chocolate.

"Hmm, a menu full of fatty foods that could quite possibly reduce my life expectancy by several years. My favourite," grinned Blaine.

"Oh God, don't get me started. I swear they even inject fat into the salad leaves," said Kurt with wide eyes. Blaine laughed at that, bringing a hesitant smile to Kurt's lips.

"That's not very comforting, coming from someone who works here." Blaine raised an amused eyebrow.

"Hey, if I didn't need this job I would tell you to get out and save yourself while you can. But I do, so quickly order something and make inappropriate moans as you eat it, commenting loudly how delicious it is and how marvellous your waiter is."

"I will be sure to do that!" laughed Blaine, his eyes crinkling up. "So what would you suggest, oh marvellous waiter?"

Kurt suggested one of the sandwiches and told him he'd bring it over in a moment. Blaine left to join his friends with a 'thank you' and a wide smile.

* * *

For the next week Blaine and his two friends came to the diner every lunch time, Blaine always lingering at the counter to make small talk for a few minutes. They had mostly discussed each other's music tastes, nothing deep, but Kurt was glad to talk to someone his own age for once.

"Hey, you should swing by our shop sometime," enthused Blaine on Friday. One thing Kurt had noticed was how Blaine was very much like an excitable puppy, wide eyes and toothy grin.

"Oh, well...I don't know when I'd have time..." Kurt bit his lip, trying to mentally find a time of day when he was free.

"Hey, no worries," said Blaine, grin never fading. "I'll just have to continue to bug you here every day!" He laughed, stuck his tongue out, and practically skipped from the diner.

Kurt had started to look forward to midday when Blaine would stroll into the diner, sporting a grin and occasionally a ridiculous bow tie around his collar. He hardly knew the guy, but his happiness seemed to rub off on Kurt, and he would find himself much cheerier throughout the rest of the day.

At 4:50 he undid his apron and fished his car keys out his pocket. He waved goodbye to Hawk-Face and returned a hesitant fist bump from Kathy. He drove to playgroup, humming as he turned the corners. He strolled into the colourful building, smiling at a couple of the other parents in recognition.

"Hey, Kurt!" called Jane, carrying a small, brown haired boy.

"Hello, Jane," returned Kurt with a smile, reaching out as his son was passed to him. "What did you do today then, hmm?" He bounced Matthew on his hip who was gazing in the opposite direction and absentmindedly sucking on his fingers.

"We did painting today, didn't we Matthew?" prompted Jane. Kurt now noticed the flecks of blue in his son's hair. "One second, I'll go find his masterpiece." Jane walked away and returned with an A4 piece of paper with a blue and purple splodge haphazardly smeared to one side.

Kurt chuckled. "Well that deserves to go on the fridge now, doesn't it?" He took the painting in the hand that wasn't holding Matthew, thanking Jane and returning to his car. As he walked Matthew yawned and buried his head into Kurt's shoulder as his eyelids drooped lower and lower.

* * *

The next day was a Saturday, so Kurt set the alarm for ten o'clock instead of his usual 6:30, and amazingly Matthew didn't wake up once before it went off. Kurt gently woke him up and started filling the bath with baby friendly bubble bath and warm water.

Once Matthew was in the soapy water he gurgled happily, trying to grab the small piles of foamy bubbles surrounding him. Kurt sat on the floor next to the bath, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and chin resting on the cool edge.

"Uh?" Matthew offered him a squashed handful of bubbles, wide blue eyes sparkling.

"For me?" gasped Kurt, gently scooping the bubbles from Matthew's hand. "Thank you, honey, it's what I've always wanted!" Matthew made a high pitched noise of agreement before returning to his bubbles.

"What do you want to do today, Mr. Hummel Junior?" asked Kurt as he dried his son off with a fluffy towel a few minutes later. Matthew didn't register that he'd said anything and was trying to bat the towel away.

As Kurt selected some clothes for Matthew to wear he was struck by an idea.

Half an hour later Kurt parked in the high street, unstrapping Matthew from his seat and making his way towards the diner. But he didn't even spare his work place a second glance as he strolled right past it and into the surprisingly empty, colourful music shop next door, Matthew on his hip. He barely had time to look around at the assortment of guitars, pianos, sheet music and other instruments before he heard a familiar voice calling, "Kurt!"

Kurt grinned as he saw Blaine approaching him, guitar slung over his back.

"Hey," replied Kurt.

"And who's this?" Blaine lent in a little closer to Matthew, who had been staring at him warily.

"This is Matthew, you going to say hello to Blaine, Mattie?" asked Kurt softly, nosing at the side of his son's head.

"Dah?" Matthew turned his head to stare at Kurt as if to scold him for putting him in front of someone he'd never seen before. With a small whimper Matthew buried his head in Kurt's shoulder. Blaine chuckled.

"Is my face that scary?"

"He's not very good with new people, it's not just you," reassured Kurt with amusement. "Do you play?" asked Kurt, gesturing to the guitar on his back.

"Uhm, yeah, a little," shrugged Blaine modestly.

"Play us something?" requested Kurt with a shy smile.

"Alright," chuckled Blaine, "Come this way." He walked over to the side of the shop to where the guitars were, seating himself on an amplifier and bringing the guitar over his lap. "Okay," he started as Kurt sat on the floor in front of him with Matthew between his legs. "This one, is for Matthew." He winked at the young baby before strumming softly. "It's the craziest rock song ever."

_In the jungle, the mighty jungle_

_The lion sleeps tonight._

Kurt laughed as Blaine slipped in a totally out-of-place guitar solo to the soft melody. As he returned to strumming and singing the next line Matthew let out a high pitched giggle, patting Kurt's knee and bouncing slightly where he sat.

Kurt watched as his son crawled to where Blaine sat, gripping onto the man's trouser leg and pulling himself to a standing position, waving his hand to try and reach the guitar. Blaine chuckled and pushed the guitar into the boy's reach, where Matthew bashed the strings lightly, not noticing the shocked look on Kurt's face.

"You're a true musician, Ma-Kurt? What's wrong?" Blaine frowned in concern at Kurt's expression.

"He's never done that before," replied Kurt with a delighted laugh, staring at where his son was still standing and clutching to Blaine's trousers. Matthew let go of Blaine and fell backwards onto his bum with a small "Oh!" as he hit the floor.

"Wow, now I'm flattered," grinned Blaine.

Kurt swept Matthew into his arms, placing a kiss to his head and cooing, "My clever little boy."

"Hey Blaine!" called a voice through the shop. "This lady has a question about guita-oh my gosh, is that a baby?" An excited Jeff skipped over, crouching down beside Kurt and Matthew. "Hey there, baby Kurt! Oh dude, he totally has your eyes! Blaine, the lady needs you." He gestured to Blaine and then to the counter on the other side of the shop, not taking his eyes off Matthew.

Matthew seemed rather alarmed by Jeff, frozen in the act of sucking his fingers. Blaine rolled his eyes and went over to help the lady. Jeff reached out to softly stroke Matthew's knee, but the toddler didn't appreciate this and opened his mouth the scream.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" panicked Jeff. "I didn't mean to make him cry!"

"It's alright, Jeff. He's just a little shy," said Kurt, shooting a reassuring smile to Jeff before standing and picking up his son. "Come on, Mattie, I think it's time we leave these poor people alone."

He said goodbye to Jeff before walking by the counter to wave goodbye to Blaine with an apologetic smile. Blaine called out, "I'll see you on Monday!" over Matthew's cries and the lady he was helping shot him a sympathetic look.

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**Thank you for reading =)  
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**The more reviews I have, the quicker I'll update... ;)  
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**Did you like Blaine? Any prompts for improvement?  
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	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, I'm not too sure about this chapter, it has a slightly different tone to the others...kinda. I also have no beta, so please feel free to point out mistakes! =D**

**Disclaimer: Alas, I do not own Glee.  
**

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"What's your favourite colour?"

Kurt looked up from where he was cleaning a table to see Blaine waltzing in.

"What?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Favourite colour, go!"

"Err," Kurt thought. "Cornflower blue."

"Nice," nodded Blaine, following Kurt to the counter when he had finished wiping the table.

"Why?" asked Kurt in curiosity.

"No reason," shrugged Blaine, fiddling with the menu.

"Where are Nick and Jeff?" Kurt looked over Blaine's shoulder, noticing the lack of the two others.

"They're still in the shop, we suddenly had a horde of school kids come in, demanding various colour picks and stuff."

"Shouldn't you be helping them?" asked Kurt with a raised eyebrow.

"I snuck away," stage whispered Blaine with a wink.

"Ooh, rebel," snickered Kurt. "What can I get you, anyway?"

"Actually, I was wondering if, when you have your break, you'd join me for lunch?" It would have been totally smooth if it weren't for the very light dusting of pink on his cheeks.

"Oh, I'd love to, I really would. But, uhm, I don't...have a lunch break," Kurt stumbled over his words.

"Oh," Blaine looked slightly downhearted. "How come?"

"Well, my shift is nine 'til six, but I need to pick up Matthew from Playgroup at five, so my boss lets me work through my lunch break and then leave an hour early," explained Kurt.

Blaine didn't say anything in return. Instead he turned to one of the booths and picked up a stool, walking back to Kurt and placing it in front of the long counter. He sat down, swinging his legs where they didn't touch the floor, and beamed at Kurt.

"Then I'll just sit here, at least until your scary boss notices and kicks me out," said Blaine with a satisfied smirk, shooting a quick nervous look over his shoulder as he mentioned Kurt's boss.

"Oh my gosh, you're crazy," chuckled Kurt, shaking his head slightly.

"Oh gee whiz, you're just saying that," said Blaine, holding a hand to his heart, pretending to be flustered.

Kurt had to continue taking orders and waiting on tables, but Blaine remained seated at the counter, sipping on a chocolate milk and making comments to Kurt that made his cheeks start to ache at how much he was smiling and laughing.

"Okay," whispered Blaine, "The next person to walk through those doors is you in five years time." Both men turned their gaze to the glass doors. They saw a large, spherical man with orange shades, a balding patch with grey tracksuit bottoms tucked into a pair of cowboy boots.

"Oh no, no, don't come in, don't come in," chanted Kurt, eyes comically wide. The man turned and pushed the doors open. "Noo!"

Blaine was almost crying in his effort not to laugh as the man ordered. When he'd waddled away to a table Kurt glared at Blaine.

"You are _mean_."

"I'm just too hilarious for you to handle," sighed Blaine, wiping at his watering eyes with a huge grin.

* * *

The next day Jeff and Nick were back, greeting Kurt with friendly smiles. It was a wonderful feeling, having people happy to see him that weren't his own family.

The three were sitting at a table eating their lunch when the doors slammed open, revealing a person that made Kurt freeze and his blood run cold. Kurt vaguely noticed everyone else in the diner turning to watch.

"Hello, _sweetie_," snarled the tall man, a thin mouth pulled into a smirk and dark eyes narrowing. Kurt didn't reply, still frozen behind the counter. "Still working here like the pathetic thing you are? So much for your New York dreams, huh?" The man sauntered closer. A man that, at one point, Kurt had thought was wonderful. Back when he was desperate for love.

"Go away, Nathan," whispered Kurt, no strength behind the words.

"So I can't even see the father of my son now?" Nathan raised a judging eyebrow. "It's a shame he got your ugly looks, isn't it?"

"He is _not_ your son! You made that choice six months ago," said Kurt through gritted teeth, his hands tingling with rage. "Now get _out._"

"Aw, don't be like that," Nathan mocked with a baby voice, moving even closer until he was right at the counter. "You son of a bitch."

Kurt closed his eyes, "Please leave me alone." He opened them again. "And don't you even come _near_ my son."

Nathan stared at Kurt with something burning in his eyes. He growled and reached across to grab Kurt's arm and pull him around the counter.

"Let me _go_!" screamed Kurt.

"Look at you, screaming like the little whore that you are," Nathan moved his face right up to Kurt's.

"I think you should leave," came a voice from behind Nathan. It was Blaine, flanked by Nick, Jeff and Kathy.

"This your new boyfriend, Kurt? You slut," sneered Nathan.

"Oi, we said _leave_," snapped Kathy, moving closer. Nathan stared at the four of them, who's stances were protective and ready to spring into action.

"Fine," Nathan let go of Kurt, hands in the air. "Have my leftovers, I'm done with him now anyway."

He made to move away, but with a lightning strike he punched Kurt across the jaw, causing the smaller man to fall backwards. He managed to get in a kick to the ribs before Blaine and Jeff tackled him to the floor. But despite Jeff's height and Blaine's lean muscle, Nathan struggled free and ran for it, dodging Nick and Kathy.

"That bastard!" cried Kathy, tearing after Nathan with the other two, leaving Blaine to rush to Kurt's side, kneeling next to him. The rest of the occupants in the diner looked on in shock, mouths hanging open.

"Holy crap, Kurt, are you alright?" asked Blaine frantically, very gently turning Kurt's face to examine his jaw.

"Yeah," replied Kurt breathlessly, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Do you need me to call an ambulance?" asked an elderly lady, leaning over Blaine's shoulder.

"I'm not sure," mumbled Blaine, biting his lip but Kurt was shaking his head.

Kurt reassured them he didn't need an ambulance, but Blaine insisted on driving him up to A&E, after explaining the situation to Kurt's boss who was surprisingly understanding. He carefully helped Kurt into his car and drove the short distance to the hospital.

They assured them that Kurt was simply winded and would be very bruised, but if he started to feel dizzy or sick to return immediately. "No strenuous exercise," were the parting words of the doctor, paired with a stern look.

Blaine also insisted on driving Kurt back home, waving off Kurt's "thank you"s with a smile and a shake of the head. When they stopped outside Kurt's apartment block he asked if Blaine would like to come in for a coffee, seeing as he had given up his afternoon to wait in A&E and drive him around.

"It was really no problem," assured Blaine, following Kurt up the stairs to his small apartment. Nick had texted him earlier that Nathan had got away in a flashy sports car, leaving them behind with a rude gesture over his shoulder. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Thank you," smiled Kurt, opening his front door and gesturing for Blaine to follow him. "Ugh, sorry about the mess," he sighed, moving some baby toys off the couch for Blaine to sit down.

A few minutes later and they were both sat on the couch with mugs of coffee in mismatching mugs, one depicting Bob the Builder with a thumbs up and the other a slightly chipped Rolling Stones print.

"I need to pick up Matthew at five," said Kurt, checking his watch. 4:16.

"Would you like a lift?" asked Blaine, sipping his coffee.

"No, thank you," replied Kurt, turning his head to smile gratefully. "You've had enough of carting me around, surely."

"I really don't mind," insisted Blaine, poking Kurt's shoulder.

"I'll be fine. Really!" laughed Kurt when Blaine raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "It's not too far."

"Alright," chuckled Blaine, shaking his head. "You stubborn man."

He hadn't mentioned what had happened in the diner once, for which Kurt was grateful. He really didn't feel like talking about it, especially to Blaine. Blaine who was so happy and made his day brighter. He didn't want that wonderful smile to be marred with pity if he knew the whole story.

They said goodbye at the door half an hour later in order to go their separate ways. Kurt moved to wave shyly but he was suddenly pulled into a gentle, very platonic hug from the other man which instantly made Kurt feel a hundred times better.

* * *

"Baby, you can drive my car!" sang Kurt that evening as he placed Matthew's food in front of him in the high chair. "Yes I'm gonna be a star! Baby you can drive my car, and baby I looove you!"

Matthew happily bashed his hands on the plastic table in front of him, nearly causing the plate full of mush to fall onto the floor. Kurt sat down in a chair next to the high chair, absentmindedly holding a hand to his bruised ribs.

"Open up, Mattie!" encouraged Kurt, lifting the green plastic spoon piled with something mushy and nutritious, Kurt wasn't quite sure, to Matthew's mouth. Matthew opened his mouth eagerly, letting Kurt feed him before pouting and letting most of the food drop onto his bib. "Oh that's just lovely," commented Kurt with amused sarcasm. He used the spoon to wipe away the worst around his son's mouth before trying again.

That night he put Matthew in the bed with him, not caring when his son's clinging hands hurt his ribs, needing his son close.

"I love you, Mattie," he whispered into the dark, listening to the toddler's deep breathing, indicating he was asleep.

* * *

**Was that...okay?  
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**xx  
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	4. Chapter 4

**Wow! Thank you for the reviews! You have no idea how much they make me smile! =)  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, y'all!  
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* * *

The next day Blaine came into the diner first thing, as opposed to lunch time. He walked in, eyes immediately seeking out the slightly taller male.

"Hey," said Blaine, slightly softer than his usual enthusiastic greeting. "How's the jaw?"

"It's fine, thank you," replied Kurt, reaching up to delicately touch the rather noticeable bruising. He missed his teenage years when he had five different types of concealer to hand. "A little sore."

"Hey, at least you look totally badass now," Blaine winked, leaning against the counter as Kurt slipped his apron on.

"I doubt it. And the bruising totally drains my skin colour."

"You look great," assured Blaine. "As perfectly groomed as ever."

"You make me sound like a poodle!" Kurt laughed, tucking his notebook and pen into the front pocket of his apron.

"A very fashionable poodle," teased Blaine, sticking his tongue out.

Blaine had to leave to get back to the music shop, but he returned at lunch time and the two continued their easy banter.

* * *

The rest of the week rolled by quickly and soon enough it was Saturday. Kurt decided to take Matthew and himself to the music shop again. He had just made a new friend and was not going to let him go easily. Besides, Blaine made him happy, and Matthew didn't seem too opposed to the man.

"Kurt! And Baby Kurt!" squealed an excited Jeff as the two entered the shop, rushing over but keeping a safe distance from the little boy who'd screamed last time Jeff had come too close.

"His name is Matthew, Jeff," chuckled Kurt.

"But Baby Kurt sounds cuter. Besides, he looks like you," protested Jeff. He hesitantly held out a finger to Matthew, who eyed it warily for a few moments before reaching out and latching onto it. "Kurt! He's holding my finger! He loves me too!"

"Kurt!" called another delighted voice. Kurt grinned as Blaine jogged over to join them. "Hello, Matthew!"

"Ugnah," said Matthew, staring at Blaine.

"Close enough," laughed Blaine. Matthew then let go of Jeff's finger and bashed on Kurt's arms, wailing slightly, indicating he wanted to get down.

"Oh no, Mattie, I don't think it's a good idea to be crawling around a music store," said Kurt, hoisting the boy higher on his hip. Matthew started to get louder.

"It's alright, here, if we sit in the corner then Matthew can crawl around a little bit and we can stop him from going to far," reasoned Blaine, nodding his head to the corner where some guitars were safely secured to the wall.

"Okay," agreed Kurt. "Thank you."

"It's no problem." Kurt followed Blaine, leaving behind an amused Jeff who rolled his eyes and left them to it. They sat down on the floor and Kurt let Matthew sit between them. Immediately Matthew crawled over to a shiny purple electric guitar, holding out a tiny hand to stroke it surprisingly carefully.

He looked over his shoulder to Kurt and said, "Dah?"

"I think you're a little too young for a guitar, honey," said Kurt, with an easy smile.

"Just wait until you're a teenager," Blaine addressed Matthew. "Then come here and I'll give you a discount on any guitar you want."

"He'll remember that," joked Kurt just as his phone started to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket as he said, "Sorry about this," to Blaine.

"Hi Dad!" he said as he pressed the phone to his ear, watching as Blaine amused Matthew by reaching up to the hanging purple guitar to lightly strum the strings.

"_Hey, Kurt, how are you?_"

"I'm fine, what about you?" replied Kurt, not mentioning the incident in the diner to his protective father.

"_I'm great, actually. Rachel and Finn are coming down next weekend and I was wondering if you and Matthew would like to come up as well?_"

"Yeah, that would be great," enthused Kurt. They sorted out times and hung up after saying goodbye, Kurt putting his phone down next to him on the floor.

"Abababaa," babbled Matthew and Kurt looked up to see him standing on Blaine's lap, reaching up to play with the man's curly hair. Blaine actually looked delighted, holding onto the little boy to stop him from falling.

"Oh, Matthew! Poor Blaine!"

"It's alright, he's too adorable for me to mind," said Blaine, the end of his sentence turning to baby talk.

"He has got you wrapped around his little finger," observed Kurt with a laugh. Matthew then turned his interest to Blaine's eyebrows, poking them with a look of great concentration, causing Kurt to laugh harder.

They said goodbye after Matthew was starting to get hungry and Nick came over to tell Blaine good naturedly to get back to work. They departed with smiles and "See you on Monday!"s.

It wasn't until Kurt had returned home that he realised he had left his phone in the music shop. He grumbled to himself as he set down Matthew to play in the small living room and went to prepare lunch for the two of them. He sighed in despair, his teenage self had been so much more organised and careful with his belongings. Not that he would ever go back to being a teenager, he shuddered at the memories of dumpster tosses and slushies.

* * *

He was trying to spoon some more questionably coloured natural mush into Matthew's mouth and halfheartedly munching on his now cold pasta when there was a knock at the door. Kurt frowned, not expecting any visitors.

But when he opened the door he was pleasantly surprised to see Blaine standing there, a grin on his face and Kurt's phone in his hand.

"I believe you forgot something," he said, holding out Kurt's phone. "I was going to wait until Monday and just hand it to you at work, but I figured you might need it before then."

"Oh, wow, thank you," said Kurt, taking the phone and pocketing it. "Would you like to come in?"

"Uhm, yeah, sure," replied Blaine, smiling.

"Ah, sorry, am I gatecrashing lunch?" asked Blaine apologetically, noticing the mostly eaten bowl of pasta and Matthew dropping clumps of mush onto the floor with his hands, laughing as he did so.

"No, no, of course not, mine had gone cold anyway," replied Kurt, taking his plate and putting it on the counter by the sink. "Oh no, Matthew, that's not how we eat lunch, is it?" Kurt quickly pulled the bowl away and grabbed a cloth to clean up the mess.

"Don't listen to him, Matthew, that's the hip way to eat lunch," Blaine winked at Matthew, who held out a slimy hand to him.

"'Hip'? My God, Blaine, you sound so old," laughed Kurt. "And don't encourage my son to throw his food around." He turned and pointed a finger to Blaine.

"Ah! Matthew, save me from the scary man!" Blaine moved to hide behind the high chair while Matthew gurgled happily, finally in reach of Blaine's curls. The little boy reached out to pat Blaine's hair with mucky hands. "Oh, Matthew! I thought you were on my side," pouted Blaine, reaching up to poke the sloppy food residue in his hair.

"That's what he deludes people into thinking. He lulls them into a false sense of security and then _boom_. Sticky hair," said Kurt, rinsing the cloth in the sink before walking over and gently wiping at the mess in Blaine's hair. "That'll do," sighed Kurt.

The three of them migrated to the living room once Kurt had cleaned Matthew's hands, the two men sitting on the sofa as the toddler immersed himself in his plastic farm animals.

"Uhna," mumbled Matthew, crawling to the couch and using his new found skill to pull himself up to a standing position. He placed a plastic pig onto Blaine's lap before plopping back down to fetch another farm animal and returning to drop it onto Blaine's lap. Blaine, totally relaxed, let the toddler pile his lap high with toys as he talked to Kurt, telling him anecdotes from the shop.

"-and the toy had a little sticker that said 'Squeeze me! I sing!' on it, so we put it on Nick's butt without him noticing and-" Blaine gasped out a laugh, "-and he walked around all day with 'Squeeze me! I sing!' on his butt."

"Oh my God," laughed Kurt, throwing his head back. "Are you actually a five year old?"

At this point Matthew had laden all his farm animals onto Blaine's lap and was patting Kurt's knees in a request to be lifted. Kurt reached down to pull his son onto his lap. Matthew then reached across and started to play with the animals on Blaine's lap.

"Oh I see, we're your personal playground now, are we?" Kurt tickled his son's tummy, who giggled but pushed his hands away so he could make his plastic chicken jump up and down on Blaine's knee.

"He just wanted to be included!" insisted Blaine, picking up a plastic horse and making it walk over to Matthew's jumping chicken. "Hello Mr. Chicken! What do you think about the recession? Aren't the prices in hay simply extortionate at the moment?"

"Ablaaguh," was the response as Matthew made the chicken bump noses with the horse and Kurt watched Blaine interact with his son with wonder and an incredibly warm feeling in his chest.

"Kurt, look! They kissed, they're in love!"

"You're ridiculous," mumbled Kurt fondly, stroking Matthew's soft hair.

"I take that as a compliment," said Blaine with a proud smile. Matthew decided he had had enough of Kurt's lap and made his way to Blaine's, sitting on top of all the animals. "Hello, young man," chirped Blaine happily. Matthew brought the plastic chicken in his hand up to Blaine's face and made the toy jump on his nose. Blaine was screwing his face up in an adorable manner as he let the toddler abuse him.

"Stop it Mattie, no hitting," said Kurt sternly, gently bringing Matthew's arm down.

"Dah!" Matthew looked at Kurt with furrowed eyebrows, making a little cough. "Dah!" he wailed again, sounding urgent as he coughed again.

"What's wrong, honey?" asked Kurt, but before he could move forward to comfort his son, the little boy whimpered and threw up onto Blaine's t-shirt. There was silence for a moment.

"Kuurrrrrt," whined Blaine, looking at Kurt with wide eyes.

"Oh my God," Kurt covered his short laugh with a hand over his mouth. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh, just you're expression-oh gosh I'm so sorry, my son threw up on you." Kurt swiftly removed Matthew from Blaine's lap who was once again happily playing with his toys.

"It's alright," said Blaine, looking helplessly down at his t-shirt, "Is Matthew alright?"

"He should be, he does this sometimes, but the Doctor said it's nothing to worry about. Babies do it all the time," explained Kurt. "Oh God, I feel so bad. Here, take your t-shirt off. I'll rinse it and shove it straight in the wash."

Kurt realised hadn't really thought what this would imply as Blaine tugged the t-shirt over his head. Kurt gulped slightly, ignoring the slight heat in his cheeks and looking anywhere but Blaine's tanned, lean chest.

"I can do it, it's fine," said Blaine, holding the t-shirt away from him and moving to the kitchen.

"No way, that's my baby's sick, I'll do it. Stay here with Matthew and I'll find you a clean t-shirt you can wear as well." Kurt took the t-shirt from Blaine's hand and took it to the sink. The past seven months had made Kurt pretty much immune to sick and other habits and hazards of having a baby so he was quick with the rinsing, throwing it into the washing machine and went to his bedroom to find a substitute for Blaine to wear.

Five minutes later Blaine was wearing a loose blue t-shirt and Kurt was still apologising.

"Please, Kurt, it's honestly fine," insisted Blaine with a kind smile. "No one can help Matthew being sick. At least it wasn't you puking on me, eh?"

"That would have been worse," nodded Kurt.

"Exactly."

"Still, he also rubbed purée into your hair and hit you with a plastic chicken and-"

"Hey, calm down," said Blaine, placing a hand on Kurt's upper arm. "I had a great time, Mattie totally digs my plastic animal impressions." It was the first time Blaine had referred to his son with that nickname and it sent funny jolts through his heart. Kurt smiled.

"Yeah," he said quietly. Blaine who he had only known for a couple of weeks, Blaine who dealt with mushy food and vomit with a grin on his face, Blaine who made his son giggle. It was almost too much to believe.

* * *

**Hello, hope you enjoyed this chapter. =) Let me know?  
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	5. Chapter 5

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**Disclaimer: Glee ain't nuffin to do with me. **

* * *

Kurt was woken that Saturday night by the distinct cries of his son. Kurt sluggishly pulled himself out of bed and stumbled over to the cot, mumbling nonsense as he went.

"Hey, hey, little man. What's wrong?" he gently scooped Matthew out of his cot and held him to his chest. "What's all this noise for, hmm?" He rocked the tiny boy in his arms, but the wails did not quieten. "Are you hungry?"

Kurt prepared a bottle of milk for Matthew, bouncing him in his arms as he stood at the kitchen counter. He offered the finished bottle to his son, but Matthew turned his head away, screwing his eyes up to cry louder.

"Come on, honey," cooed Kurt, "If only you could tell Daddy what's wrong, wouldn't that be a whole load easier?" He tried offering a dummy to the screaming boy, to no luck. He checked the nappy, but it was clean. "Oh, baby, please shh," whispered Kurt, sitting down on the sofa in the living room, cuddling Matthew into his chest.

Kurt picked up the baby book on the coffee table, flicking through it with one hand. "Maybe you're teething," muttered Kurt, although he was unable to hear himself over the pitiful wails of his son. Babies cry all the time, he reminded himself. There's no reason why anything is seriously wrong with Matthew.

Kurt sat for hours on the couch, trying to calm Matthew who alternated between tucking his face into Kurt's chest to looking up at his father with tear stained cheeks, heaving cries coming from his mouth.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word..." sang Kurt softly. "Papa's gonna buy you a mocking bird. If that mocking bird don't sing, Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring..."

Eventually the two of them fell asleep on the couch, Matthew tucked snugly into his father's arms.

* * *

Kurt showed up to work with dark bags under his eyes. Sunday night had been like Saturday night, but worse. He wasn't sure what to do with his son, was he hurting? Kurt felt so helpless.

"Woah, dude. You look bad," commented Kathy who was already behind the counter.

"I am aware," replied Kurt, lethargically reaching for his apron. Kathy sucked in some air through her teeth, shaking her head with sympathy. At least, Kurt assumed it was sympathy. It was more likely to be pity, but he really needed some of the former at that moment.

Kurt wasn't really aware of what he was doing that morning. He went through the rituals of bringing customers their orders and cleaning tables while plastering a pained-looking smile on his face. There was a slight lull in customers and Kurt stood behind the counter, resting his elbows on the surface with his chin in his hands, gazing dazedly forwards.

"Earth to Kurt?" came a sudden voice.

"Wha?" Kurt blinked a couple of times, trying to clear his foggy brain while looking up at into familiar chocolate eyes.

"Ouch, are you alright?" asked Blaine tenderly, moving forwards to rest his hand on Kurt's forehead. Kurt got lost in the feel of Blaine's warm hand and momentarily forgot the question.

"Kurt?"

"Oh, yeah. M'fine." He nodded, taking his arms off the counter. "Jus' a little tired." He repressed the urge to yawn as he realised this would be a very unattractive thing to do.

"Did Matthew keep you up?" Blaine asked with sympathy. Kurt smiled at Blaine's caring tone.

"Yeah, I think he might be teething, but I'm not entirely sure," replied Kurt, biting his lip and feeling like a terrible father.

"Well, babies will be babies," reasoned Blaine and Kurt snorted.

"What insightful things you bring me."

"I brought you something else as well," said Blaine with a grin, dropping a neatly folded t-shirt onto the counter.

"My t-shirt," chuckled Kurt.

"It brought me much comfort, thank you," grinned Blaine.

When Blaine left Kurt's smile had changed from a flat, fake one to a small, genuine one.

* * *

The week passed quickly, and Kurt hadn't felt so content for a very long time. He still worked in the same dingy job with no lunch break and had to leave his tiny son at a playgroup for the majority of the day, but it had become just that bit more bearable as Blaine spent his lunchtimes in the diner.

"I'm not sure whether I'm dreading or looking forward to this weekend," sighed Kurt, scrubbing at a stubborn stain on one of the plastic tables.

"Why, what's happening?" inquired Blaine, leaning on the chair next to Kurt.

"I'm seeing my brother and sister-in-law. They're visiting my parents so I'm going to drive up and spend the weekend."

"That doesn't sound too bad. Unless there's some ominous detail you're missing out."

"No, it's just..." Kurt hesitated, letting the cloth he was holding fall onto the table. "She's just landed this minor part in a Broadway production and...don't get me wrong, I'm am _thrilled_ for her. But...it was kind of our dream in high school, you know. We were going to graduate together and go to New York and be stars..." Kurt shook his head slightly. "Obviously, that didn't happen." He attempted a small laugh but it came out rather choked.

"Oh, Kurt..." murmured Blaine, reaching out to place a hand on Kurt's shoulder.

"And I'm not jealous...not really. Matthew is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I just wish...I wish I could be on that stage with her."

"Maybe you will," shrugged Blaine, squeezing Kurt's shoulder lightly before retracting his hand. "There's still time."

"Maybe. It's gone down significantly on my list of priorities though," chuckled Kurt quietly. "But I just _know_ she'll be talking about it, and singing about it, and she's really loud."

"Then sing louder," suggested Blaine, and Kurt laughed properly this time.

* * *

"Oh, Kurt! He's grown so much!" insisted Rachel, bouncing Matthew on her hip, who let out a high-pitched giggle. "Can he walk yet? What about talking? Has he said 'Daddy'?"

"No, to all of those," replied Kurt with an amused smile. "But he's recently started standing while holding onto something."

"Maybe you should start giving him dance lessons," said Rachel seriously.

"What?" laughed Kurt. "Rachel, he's not even a year old yet!"

"It's never too early to start, Kurt!" she replied, raising her eyebrows and nodding. "He's not yet as vocally advanced as I was at his age, but in a few months you should start training his voice."

"Oh God, I do _not_ want a male version of Rachel Berry as my son."

"No, dearest. That's you," quipped Rachel with a wink.

"Don't be silly, I'm far superior."

Over a spectacular dinner that Carole had made Burt brought up Rachel's new part on Broadway, asking her how it was going. Rachel spoke surprisingly minimally about it, answering politely before trying to subtly change the subject.

Later that evening when everyone else was in bed and the two of them sat on the sofa, Rachel said earnestly, "I wish you were going to be belting out that song with me, Kurt."

Kurt turned his head to her, smiling sadly. "Things don't always turn out the way you expect."

"No, but that doesn't make it fair."

"Don't you dare feel sorry for me," said Kurt, staring into her brown eyes. "I am _happy_. Matthew and I have a great life, the two of us. And as much as I wish I could come to New York with you, I need to stay here with him."

"You could take him with us," suggested Rachel. "We could totally work with that."

"No we couldn't," replied Kurt, shaking his head with a small smile. "Live your dreams, Rachel Berry. Don't let anyone stop you." He held both her hands in his. "And I'll live mine. They're not the same ones I had in high school, but they're ones I'm planning to see through to the end."

"Oh, God," sniffled Rachel. "We're so dramatic."

"Drama queens and proud," said Kurt, sniffling just as much, squeezing Rachel's hands.

* * *

Kurt dozed on the sofa, watching Finn roll a ball towards Matthew, who ignored it and proceeded to stick a wooden block in his mouth. Finn retrieved the ball and rolled it across the carpet to Matthew again. This time the little boy squealed and kicked his legs out, accidentally hitting the ball with his foot and sending it back to his Uncle Finn.

"Kurt! Did you see that? I taught him how to kick a ball!" said Finn in excitement. "We're gonna be football buddies." Kurt nodded vaguely, letting his eyes fall closed as he listened to the strange squeals his son made. Soon enough his exhaustion caught up with him and he fell asleep.

He awoke to something patting his face. He cracked his eyes open to see the little round happy face of his son, who's little hand was reaching out to pat and pull at Kurt's cheeks and nose.

"Dah?" Matthew said the singular syllable loudly, reaching out another hand towards Kurt's face before losing balance and falling face first into Kurt's chest.

"Silly boy," muttered Kurt through the sleepy haze in his brain, tucking his son gently into his arms so he was curled up on his chest, his small breaths tickling Kurt's neck.

* * *

It had been a nice weekend, thought Kurt as he drove home, the radio on some classical channel. He loved seeing his parents, and had forgotten how much he missed hanging out with his best friend and his brother.

Matthew squealed something from his baby seat in the back, kicking his legs out so they thumped against the seat.

"This not your kind of music, Mattie?" asked Kurt, reaching across to change the radio station, finding something bouncy and dance-worthy. He glanced in the center mirror to see Matthew bouncing in his seat with his arms held out in front of him in some kind of baby interpretive dance.

* * *

**Okay. I need your help! Can anyone think up a better summary for this story? The current one is really crap. xD I would be ever so grateful!  
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**I hope you liked this chapter! =)  
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**xx  
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	6. Chapter 6

**Heyyy guyyys! Again, thank you so much for the reviews! They seem to be getting less for each chapter though! Is the story getting worse? xD  
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**And a special thank you to** _andwho_** who leaves lovely reviews! =) You should go check out her awesome stories too! ****  
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**Disclaimer: Glee no mine!  
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* * *

"Please, Matthew," pleaded Kurt, trying to pry his son's hands from his shirt, who was crying with as much force as he could muster, taking gasping breaths between each sob. "Please, honey, I need to get to work."

Jane was trying to help, cooing to Matthew about the colourful blocks he enjoyed playing with, but Matthew's cries wouldn't soften. His tear streaked face looked up at his father, making Kurt's heart wrench at the thought of leaving him behind.

"Mattie," sighed Kurt helplessly, resting his forehead on to top of his son's head. "I've got to go, I'm so sorry." At last the two adults managed to get Matthew away from Kurt and into Jane's arms instead. Kurt stepped backwards, towards the door exciting the playgroup, feeling quite sick as he tried to ignore his son's arms reaching out to him from the circle of Jane's gentle hold.

Matthew's cries followed him out of the door and down the path. When he got to his car, Kurt dropped his head onto the steering wheel, squeezing his eyes shut.

As he walked into work, slightly hunched with a dead-looking face, Kathy seemed to not notice, chatting away about something or another. The customers seemed even less agreeable than usual and it was like people were purposefully spilling their food on the table for Kurt to clean up. He was scrubbing thoroughly at a table when Blaine came in, eyes sweeping the diner until they landed on Kurt.

"Hey!" he greeted cheerfully. Kurt couldn't even bring himself to muster a smile for Blaine.

"Hello," he replied monotonously, pausing in his scrubbing to put both hands on the table and drop his head to his chest.

"Are you alright?" asked Blaine softly, sounding genuinely concerned. Kurt nodded, biting his lip, but he felt a traitorous tear run down his cheek. "No, you're not. Come here," said Blaine in a quiet voice, gently taking Kurt's hands off the table and pulling the other man into a hug. This was the last crack in his façade, tears overspilling as he choked out soft sobs.

"Hey," whispered Blaine, rubbing at Kurt's back.

"Oh God, I'm s-sorry," choked Kurt, pulling back from Blaine.

"Don't be," he replied with a soft smile. "Come with me." Blaine slipped his hand into Kurt's and pulled him into the men's toilet, handing him a tissue. Kurt dabbed at his eyes and blew his nose.

"I'm sorry," repeated Kurt.

"There's really no reason for you to be. Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" asked Blaine hesitantly. "It might help."

"I..." started Kurt, taking a shuddering breath. "I'm a terrible father," he whispered out at last.

"What? Of course you're not."

"I am," insisted Kurt. "He's only seven months old and I have to leave him at a damn playgroup all day so I can work in this dingy place and this morning he was crying so hard...I think he's teething...but I don't know what to _do_." Kurt pressed a hand to his mouth to prevent another sob coming out. "And I'm all on my own and I'm _tired_."

"Oh, Kurt," murmured Blaine, offering his arms out for a hug, which Kurt gratefully accepted. "Do you want to go home?"

"I c-can't."

"I'll talk to your boss, tell her you're ill," suggested Blaine.

"I...I don't know..."

"Then we can go pick up Matthew and I'll take you both home."

"Okay," agreed Kurt in a shaky voice. "But I can drive myself, you know."

"I know. But I don't think you should be driving in this state," reasoned Blaine. The care in his voice made Kurt's heart clench and he smiled hesitantly.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Kurt's boss was rather reluctant to let Kurt go, seeing as she had let him off half way through the day earlier in the week, but one look at Kurt's dishevelled state and she agreed. Kurt was back in Blaine's car and giving instructions to Matthew's playgroup.

"Kurt!" called out Jane as she saw the two men walk in together. "You're very early!" She grinned, checking her watch to see it was about half 12.

"I got off work early," explained Kurt.

"Well I'm sure Matthew will be pleased to see you," said Jane with a smile. "I'll go find him."

Jane returned with Matthew on her hip, who was clutching a purple rabbit close to him. When he saw Kurt, however, the rabbit fell from his hands as he held out both arms, fingers grabbing the air to get to his father.

"Hey there, Mattie," said Kurt, feelings instantly better as his son was in his arms again. "I missed you." He realised Blaine was still standing to his left and he quickly introduced him. "Oh, Jane, this is Blaine, a friend of mine. Blaine, this is Jane, the wonderful woman who puts up with my son everyday."

"It's nice to meet you," greeted Blaine with a dazzling grin, shaking hands with the woman.

"Likewise," was the cheerful response.

* * *

"You really didn't have to drive me," said Kurt as he opened the door to his home with one hand, the other holding Matthew on his hip.

"But I wanted to," protested Blaine, following the two in to the apartment, Kurt having invited him in as they pulled up outside his apartment.

"Thank you," replied Kurt earnestly, smiling at the other man. The three of them sat down on the sofa, Matthew refusing to leave Kurt's lap. "I'm so sorry, you're always doing something for me."

"I really don't mind, I promise," assured Blaine, pulling his legs up onto the sofa. "If you ever want to talk about something, I'm here. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," breathed Kurt, running his thumb over Matthew's tiny hand. "I wasn't always alone, you know."

"What happened?" asked Blaine quietly with wide eyes, listening intently.

"There was this guy and...I thought he loved me. I loved him...I think. I'm not really sure. But he was _nice_ and he would hold my hand in public and kiss me sweetly." Kurt took a deep breath before continuing. "We were young, when we first met, only just eighteen. And I was so...so _desperate_ for someone to love me. I've had so much hate in my life, people not liking who I am. I just wanted someone to look at me and tell me I was beautiful." He paused again, watching as Matthew closed his hand around his finger, holding on tight as he rested his head on Kurt's chest.

"His name was Nathan. He was the guy who...you know, in the diner," said Kurt, looking up at Blaine who nodded. "I wanted to go to New York, maybe NYADA or something, but he failed high school and wanted me to stay with him here, in Ohio. He told me he loved me and how we could get jobs and live together, that I didn't need a fancy qualification to do well in life. I was so scared of losing the one person who loved me, aside from my own parents, that I believed him, I stayed in this cow town, trying desperately to find a job that I liked and paid well. Unfortunately it was one or the other." Kurt chuckled humourlessly.

"And we were fine, I guess. Sometimes he came home drunk and would say horrible things, hitting the walls and slamming doors, but he would always say sorry afterwards. He would tell me I was beautiful and I would forgive him.

"One day he asked me to marry him. I felt like...like I _had_ to say yes. And really, what reason was there for me to say no? He was nice enough and who else was going to want me? I wasn't going to do much better. I said yes and he said we would as soon as it was legal here, because we didn't have enough money to travel to somewhere we could. So I was engaged, at twenty two.

"It was me who brought up having a family," at this Kurt tightened his hold on Matthew. "I had this idealistic picture in my head. Me, Nathan and a cute little baby. Like a proper family. I was so excited as we saved money to pay for a surrogate. We did the whole turkey baster thing, so it was a 50/50 chance as to whose genes the baby got.

"While our surrogate was pregnant, Nathan started to drink more, claiming he was doing it while he could. Part of me was happy that he was aiming to stop once our child was born, but another part of me realised that the more he drank, the harder it was going to be for him to stop.

"Matthew was born a week before my twenty fourth birthday. Nathan wasn't even there when it happened, I called him, but he didn't appear at the hospital until a few hours later. I gave up my crappy job to stay at home with Matthew, but Nathan was rarely home, sometimes he was gone for days at a time. But when Matthew was just a month old Nathan came home angrier and drunker than I've ever seen him.

"He...he started shouting at me, Matthew started to cry so he s-screamed at him to shut up. He told me how he couldn't stand living with us anymore. He said...he said some bad things...and...and then he left. It was a few weeks later that I got a letter in the post, telling me Nathan had given up custody of Matthew and papers for me to sign, giving me full custody," Kurt finished, eyes squeezed closed.

Blaine didn't say anything. He just moved closer to Kurt on the sofa and enclosed the two Hummels in a comforting hug, Kurt resting his head on Blaine's shoulder. They sat there in silence until Matthew pulled on the collar of Kurt's shirt and saying, "Dah? Uhmamam."

"You hungry, Mattie?" asked Kurt quietly, realising he had picked up Matthew just before they had lunch at playgroup. "Let's all have some lunch, shall we?" he was still mainly talking to Matthew, but Blaine stood up from the sofa and held out a hand for Kurt.

Kurt accepted the hand, not letting go as he asked, "Would you like to stay for lunch?"

"Only if that's okay," replied Blaine quietly, squeezing Kurt's hand.

"Of course," Kurt smiled weakly, leading him to the kitchen.

"Can I do anything to help?"

"Here, I think Mattie's in need of a Blaine hug," said Kurt gently placing his son into Blaine's arms.

Blaine sat in one of the kitchen chairs with Matthew in his lap. "For what it's worth," he said, looking up at Kurt. "You're the best father I've ever seen."

"Thank you," whispered Kurt, smiling widely before turning to open the fridge.

They ended up having simple sandwiches for lunch, Kurt realising with embarrassment that he didn't have much else in the house, but Blaine enthused with gusto that it was the best sandwich he'd ever eaten.

"Okay, Mattie, open wide! The aeroplane needs to land!" said Blaine, making aeroplane noises as he swished the baby spoon laden with baby food around. Matthew seemed delighted by Blaine's tactic, squealing and gulping down the food eagerly as Blaine 'landed' it in his mouth.

Kurt watched the two with an amused grin and a warm sensation settling around his heart. He could get used to this. But did he want to? Kurt bit his lip, nibbling on the last bit of his sandwich. Could he let someone else into his heart after it had been neglected and left to dry the last time he tried. He was sure that if he continued to be friends with Blaine, his feelings would progress into something slightly less platonic, and it scared him.

Looking back, he didn't really know what love was. What he had had with Nathan wasn't love, as much as he had wanted it to be. Maybe he should protect his heart while he still had it. He and Matthew were fine together, did they really need someone else? His instinct was to just slowly ease Blaine out of his life, to return how they were before he had met the other man.

But looking back up at Blaine, who flicked his eyes to Kurt and grinned, Kurt realised he didn't want that. Blaine made him happier than he had felt in a long time and he didn't want to give that up, however selfish it was.

* * *

**Review? Pleaseypoo?**

**Just tell me whether you liked it? =)  
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	7. Chapter 7

**Hello! Thank you for the reviews! They were definitely the best yet, they made me smile so much! **_andwho_** was lovely as always, but also** _BellaStarkidEve_** who wrote the most amazing review, and who has also written an awwwweesome Hogwarts!Klaine fic that's just too ADORABLE. Go read it now.  
**

**All my reviewers are beautiful and amazing, every single one of you, so please don't feel left out! I can't mention everyone! Unless you want me to, I could totally do that if you want xD  
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**Disclaimer: I nay own Glee-eth.  
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* * *

Over the next week it started to get warmer and shorts and sunglasses were being whacked out as the sun gleamed in the cloudless sky. On Friday Kathy came into work wearing a tiny miniskirt, which was completely hidden by her apron, and a mustard yellow camisole. Her sandals smacked the floor as she walked around the diner, swaying her hips and trying her best to look alluring to any young male walking through the door.

"I need a boyfriend, Kurt," grumbled Kathy, resting her elbows on the counter as Kurt loaded drinks onto a tray. "Someone who's gonna like, hold my hand even though it's all sweaty and snog the living daylights outta me in public."

"How romantic," snorted Kurt, walking over to a table to serve the drinks.

"I'm serious. I hate being single, it sucks," she continued as Kurt returned.

"There are worse things in life, Kathy," sighed Kurt with an eyeroll.

"Like what?" retorted Kathy, a sour look on her face.

"Poverty? War? That top?" suggested Kurt and Kathy looked affronted. It was that moment that Blaine strolled into the shop, wearing a loose shirt and jeans, pink sunglasses push up on top of his curly hair.

"Where's Jeff?" asked Kathy, perking up and looking around Blaine.

"Uh, they've decided to buy sandwiches and eat in the park. Taking advantage of the sunshine," replied Blaine with a grin, walking up to the counter.

"Oh," mumbled Kathy, looking disappointed. "How come you ain't joining them?"

"Well, I err, came to see Kurt," explained Blaine, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Dude," whispered Kathy to Kurt, "I think he fancies you."

Kurt spluttered slightly and Blaine turned rather pink. "What? I mean...err..." floundered Kurt, fully aware of how ridiculous he sounded. "Blaine's my friend and we hang out sometimes," said Kurt, regaining control over his voice.

"Whatever," snorted Kathy, who then strolled away, no doubt to spend her lunch time with the boys in the park.

"Hey," said Blaine, sounding rather nervous.

"Hi, are you okay?" asked Kurt, noting his sudden shyness.

"Yeah, I'm great...uhm, I was just...er..." he stumbled over his words.

"What's wrong, Blaine?" Kurt watched, slightly amused, as Blaine rubbed the back of his neck again, avoiding Kurt's eyes.

"What...err, what are you doing this evening?" he eventually got out.

"This evening?" repeated Kurt, his heart thumping in his chest.

"Yeah, uhm...yeah."

"Er...well, nothing exciting," said Kurt carefully, forcing himself not to get his hopes up for what Blaine was going to say next.

"Well, I was wondering..." Blaine took a deep breath then said rather quickly. "I was wondering if maybe you'd want to do something for dinner." Red splashed across the man's cheeks as he glanced into Kurt's eyes.

"Like...like a date?" asked Kurt slowly and quietly, eyes wide.

"Only i-if you want it to be," rushed out Blaine. "I totally understand if that's not what you want, or if it's too soon. And I get that you have Matthew and he's obviously your priority and if you want me to go away right now, I will, or if you just want to stay friends, that's totally fine too. I just..." Blaine's rushed words came to a sudden stop. "I really like you, Kurt." His chocolate eyes stared into Kurt's sky blue ones, pink still blotching his cheeks.

"Yeah," breathed Kurt, nodding.

"Is...that a yes to..."

"Yes, I'd like it to be a...date," said Kurt, fumbling embarrassingly over the last word.

"Really?" Blaine's smile looked ready to split his face in half. When Kurt nodded, a wide smile on his own face, Blaine clasped his hands together and bounced slightly on the balls of his feet. Kurt ducked his head to hide the blush.

"Okay," said Blaine, still grinning and nodding absentmindedly. "Great. Uhm...do you want to go out? I know this adorable little Italian restaurant, or you could come over and I'll cook? Which might be easier...you know, cos of Matthew."

"Oh, uhm," Kurt stuttered, delighted that Blaine thought of Matthew. "I'll check to see if my dad and stepmother can take him for the evening and...I'll call you?"

"Yeah, okay," agreed Blaine. "If that's alright..."

"Of course," promised Kurt, pulling out his notebook and pen. "Could I get your number?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, sure. That would make sense, huh?" chuckled Blaine with pink cheeks. He scribbled his number down, adding a smiley face after it.

"Thank you," said Kurt with a shy smile, folding the paper carefully before slipping it into his trouser pocket.

"I need to go now...but I'll see you this evening?"

"Yeah," nodded Kurt, pressing his lips together in a delighted smile. Blaine gave a nervous little wave before disappearing out of the door. Kurt stared after him dreamily, biting his lip. He wasn't really sure what to feel in this situation, but the warm feeling in his chest was definitely not unpleasant.

"Er, excuse me, sir?" came a voice and Kurt blinked, shaking his head and realising there was a customer in front of him.

"Sorry, what?"

* * *

"Oh God," groaned Kurt as he stood in front of his wardrobe. Blaine had said smart, but not too smart. That part he didn't have much problem with, he had a selection of outfits for this kind of occasion, but the fact that it was Blaine who would be seeing his outfit after seeing him week after week in his work uniform was slightly nerve-wracking. He had considered calling Rachel, but she would have been more of a hindrance than a help in this situation.

Finally he decided on a dark purple shirt with black skinny jeans, winding his favourite thin scarf around his neck. The evening was still warm from the sun-filled day so he didn't wear his jacket, slinging it over his arm instead, in case it got chilly later on.

He took a final glance in the mirror, taking a deep breath to calm himself down, and slipping his phone, keys and wallet into the pocket of his jacket. He then sat on the sofa, waiting for Blaine to arrive as he crossed his legs and jiggled his foot.

"Okay, you can do this. Just be cool," muttered Kurt to himself. In all the baby books he had read, he had been told to talk aloud as often as possible around Matthew so he would pick up words, so he was in the habit of talking to himself even when he was alone.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and Kurt jumped slightly. He hurried over to the door and pulled it open to reveal Blaine, dressed in a colourful bow tie and shirt, jeans rolled up and dress shoes with no socks.

"Hey," he greeted, almost shyly.

"Hi, you look great," said Blaine, his nervousness from earlier definitely less as he grinned his usual cheerful grin at Kurt.

"Thanks, not so bad yourself," appraised Kurt with a smile and appreciative eyebrow raise.

"Uh, these," Blaine pulled out a simple, beautiful bouquet of flowers from behind his back, "are for you."

"Oh, Blaine..." Kurt accepted them with wide eyes. No one had ever given him flowers before.

"Sorry to be so cheesy," chuckled Blaine.

"Thank you," was all Kurt said, staring down at the petite petals of the pretty flowers. "Do you mind if I just quickly put them in some water?"

"No, not at all," grinned Blaine, following Kurt as he beckoned him into the apartment. Kurt realised he did not own a vase and pulled a tall glass from the cupboard.

"Sorry, I have nothing more glamorous to put them in," said Kurt as he carefully arranged the flowers.

"That's quite alright, next time I'll give you a vase with the flowers," declared Blaine with a wink and Kurt blushed at the thought of a next time.

"Shall we go?"

"Absolutely," agreed Blaine. "Would you be so kind as to accompany me?" He held out an arm for Kurt to take, and Kurt _giggled_ as he lightly slipped his hand into the crook of the other man's elbow. Together they made their way out of Kurt's apartment, walking the shortish distance to the restaurant Blaine had chosen. Blaine opened and held the door open for a blushing Kurt, who hadn't had someone pay this much attention to him in...well, never.

The restaurant was warm and cosy, the light hanging over their booth cast a gentle glow over the two of them. Blaine walked him through the dishes on the menu with great enthusiasm, pointing out his favourites. Once they had both ordered and were waiting for their food, the topic of conversation lead to family.

"Well my dad's a bit of a workaholic, he spent most of my childhood in the office or travelling on business trips to other countries. But when I was sixteen he realised he needed to change and made a big effort to be there for me," explained Blaine.

"What happened to change his mind?" asked Kurt curiously.

"Uh...well I sort of...landed myself in hospital after these three guys beat me up at my prom," he chuckled humourlessly, twirling a finger round the rim of his glass.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry," gasped Kurt.

"Yeah...well, it made my dad see sense. Made him realise there were worse things than having a gay son," said Blaine, smiling up at Kurt. "Oh gosh, and then there are my _brothers_," laughed Blaine, shaking his head slightly.

"You have brothers?" Kurt asked in interest, cocking his head to one side.

"Yeah, two older brothers. They drive me insane," insisted Blaine, but Kurt could see the fondness in his eyes. "As the youngest I was always kind of babied by everyone else. Still am, really."

Kurt laughed, "That's why you act like you're about five most of the time."

"Hey!" retorted Blaine, smiling up and thanking the waitress as she set their plates down in front of them. "What about you? Care to tell me about the amazing people who raised such a wonderful son?"

Kurt smiled shyly at the compliment. "Well, there's my dad." Kurt smile widened. "I honestly couldn't have asked for a better father. He doesn't care enough for his own health, but he's great. It was just the two of us for a long time, my mother died when I was eight."

"Oh Kurt, that must have been hard," sympathised Blaine, reaching across the table to briefly squeeze Kurt's hand in his own and Kurt nearly lost his train of thought.

"Yeah...but we were okay, eventually. I guess it's nice that he understands what I'm going through, raising Matthew on my own. Well...not _nice_, but you know what I mean." Blaine nodded at Kurt's words. "And then when I was sixteen he met Carole, who's son was in the same year as me," explained Kurt, leaving out the embarrassing bits for another time. Maybe never. "And then they got married and I got to plan the wedding, which was fantastic by the way," he added.

"I'd expect nothing less, Mr. Hummel," chuckled Blaine. "So it's your dad, your stepmother, and your father? And Matthew of course."

"Yup."

"And your sister-in-law, right? Or would it be your step-sister-in-law?" laughed Blaine.

"Yeah...you remembered," grinned Kurt.

"Of course I did! How could I not?" he winked. Kurt didn't think he'd ever grinned so much in his life. "So how's the pasta?" inquired Blaine, munching on his lasagne.

"Delicious," sighed Kurt, taking another appreciative bite. Blaine looked pleased and sent Kurt an eye-crinkling smile.

As they were taking their last bites Kurt realised there was something that he needed to talk to Blaine about. He cleared his throat, pushing the last few bits of pasta around his plate.

"You know..." he started. "I haven't dated since Nathan...left."

"Kurt, if this is too soon, I will completely-"

"No, no," interrupted Kurt. "I just...want to explain a few things, I guess..."

Blaine looked at Kurt, brows furrowed with curiosity and a dash of worry.

"It's just...I didn't think I would again, now that I have Matthew." Kurt tried to figure out how to word what he wanted to say. "And I need to know whether you're...serious about this. And that you understand that I come as a package. That it's not just my life you're affecting, but Matthew's as well, although he's still quite young at the moment.

"And...you're saying all these things like, 'next time I'll give you a vase' and if you're implying that there will be next times...then I just...I just need to know that you're not going to suddenly leave..." Kurt trailed off, looking away from Blaine. "And I know that sounds really pathetic...but I don't think I could handle going through that again.

"So...if you're going to leave, I'd rather you did it sooner than later," he concluded, biting his lip.

"Oh, Kurt..." said Blaine softly, reaching out to clutch his hand again.

"I'm sorry to be so...difficult. But I really like you Blaine, I've never felt like this with anyone else, and I think it would break my heart if you lead me on only to leave me," he paused. "And this sounds _way_ too intense for a first date, I'm sorry."

"Hey, look at me?" requested Blaine. Kurt turned his head to meet his eyes with the other man's. "Going along with the theme of too intense for a first date, I have no intention of leaving. Unless, of course, you want me to," assured Blaine. "I'd really like...to be there for you. And for Matthew. You are both too wonderful to let go."

"Okay," breathed Kurt, nodding and not retracting his hand from Blaine's. "But...would it be okay if we went slow?" Kurt blushed slightly. "This is wonderful...but it's also slightly scary..."

"Of course, Kurt, we can go as slow as you like. The fact that you even agreed to go on a date with me makes me happier than anything."

"Happier than when I give you a discount on the chocolate milkshake?" asked Kurt with a sly smile.

"Hmm...it's a close call, I'll give you that," teased Blaine with a wink. Kurt laughed squeezing Blaine's hand quickly before letting go as the waitress reappeared.

"Would you like the bill, gentlemen?" she asked, her rouged lips pulled into a friendly smile.

"Yes please," replied Blaine, smiling at the waitress, who then disappeared to retrieve their bill. Blaine pulled out his wallet and Kurt made a small noise of protest. "Don't even think about it," warned Blaine in amusement. "I asked you out, and therefore I shall be paying."

"Fine, but next time it's my turn," declared Kurt. Blaine grinned, agreeing.

* * *

"What time is it?" asked Kurt in a contented voice as they strolled back to Kurt's apartment, his hand resting in the crook of Blaine's elbow once again.

"Nine o'clock," replied Blaine, checking his watch. "Do you need to go pick Matthew up from your parents' house?"

"Yeah, they only live a short drive away though. Dad insisted I move somewhere close to him after Nathan left," explained Kurt, Blaine noticed his voice tightening whenever he mentioned Nathan, understandably. "Would you...maybe like to come too? It's not too late and you could meet my parents? Or is it too soon for that kind of thing?" frowned Kurt, not really know the proper protocol.

"I'd love to," replied Blaine, reassuring Kurt with a smile. "Wait...is your dad scary? Is he going to shoot me when he realises I'm dating his son?" At the word 'dating' Kurt felt a warmth flush through him that he was not used to yet.

"No," chuckled Kurt. "He's a little overprotective I guess...but he just wants me to be happy. And you definitely make me happy." The two shared a smile, glancing at each other as they approached Kurt's apartment.

* * *

**Whoo...okay, longest chapter yet. =D And they went on a date! Their relationship is finally progressing! **

**I have a whole load of A Level exams coming up, so I apologise in advance if the next chapter isn't as speedily updated! Wish me luck? O.O  
**

**Thank you, beautiful readers. =)  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! Again, thank you SO MUCH for the reviews, all of you are wonderful and leave such beautiful reviews! :)  
**

**For each chapter I choose a reviewer who has left a particularly nice review (previously** _BellaStarkidEve_** and **_andwho_**) and then go and read some of their stories. I think this is a great way to thank reviewers and also read new stories. This chapter's author that you should go check out is: **_Patricia__ Sage,_ **I particularly enjoyed their story **_No Longer Just a_ _Name _**and I encourage you to go read it!**

**The first part of this chapter continues directly from the last one. Sorry, the chapters may feel slightly jumpy and disjointed in parts, but this is because I just write it as a big section and then take chunks out as chapters. xD  
**

**Anywayyy, after that ridiculously long Author's Note, I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
**

**Disclaimer: Yo man, Glee so ain't nuffin to do with me. (Gangstaaa)  
**

* * *

"Okay...I'm a little nervous," admitted Blaine as Kurt stopped his car in front of his parents' house, the living room light shining through the gaps in the curtain.

"Come on, they'll love you," insisted Kurt, opening his door as Blaine did the same on the passenger side. When they reached the door Kurt reached out to ring the bell, stepping back to stand next to Blaine. "Just be your usual, charming self," said Kurt with a smile.

"Hey, buddy," greeted Burt as he opened the door, grinning broadly at his son, before noticing Blaine.

"Hey," returned Kurt with a grin. "Dad, this is Blaine. Blaine, my father."

"Hello, Mr Hummel," chirped Blaine, holding out a hand. There was a tense moment as Burt looked Blaine up and down with narrowed eyes, before reaching out and gripping Blaine's hand in his own.

"It's good to meet you, Blaine. Anyone who makes Kurt smile like that is welcome in my house."

"Oh, thank you, sir," replied Blaine, smiling in a pleased way as Burt ushered them both into the house.

"Call me Burt."

"Of course, Mr. Hummel, err, I mean-"

Burt laughed, "Don't stress it."

"Was that Kurt at the door?" asked a female voice, and everyone turned to see Carole walk from the living room. "And is this the lovely young man must be Blaine," said Carole cheerfully, pulling an unsuspecting Blaine into a hug. "Kurt has told me all about you."

"Blaine, this is my stepmother, Carole. Carole, please don't suffocate him," chuckled Kurt.

"I wouldn't dream of it," exclaimed Carole with a wink as she let go of Blaine. "Shall I go get Matthew?"

"It's alright, I'll do it," said Kurt, sending Carole a grateful smile and walking from the room.

"So," started Burt, turning to Blaine. "You and Kurt?"

"Uhm, yes," nodded Blaine. "We're taking it very slow, I understand his situation."

"I see," sighed Burt, nodding slightly in approval.

"I just want to make him happy," said Blaine earnestly. "He deserves to be happy."

Carole beamed and Burt clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you."

It was this moment that Kurt reappeared with a sleepy Matthew in his arms

"He woke up as soon as I picked him up, but hopefully he'll sleep in the car," commented Kurt as he rejoined Blaine and his parents.

"He was a darling tonight," cooed Carole, stroking back the soft hair from the baby's forehead.

"Makes up for last time," chuckled Kurt. "Well, we should probably get going. I need to get Mattie back to bed and Blaine probably needs to get home too."

Matthew raised his head slightly and caught sight of Blaine. "Nuh," he mumbled, reaching out grabby hands to the other man. Burt and Carole watched as Kurt gently transferred the little boy into Blaine's arms.

"Bye guys, and thanks again," said Kurt with a smile, pulling them both into a hug as Blaine softly bounced Matthew to lull him back to sleep.

Burt and Carole said goodbye to the boys and watched them make their way back to the car, Kurt taking Matthew from Blaine to put him in his car seat. Carole glanced at her husband, and they shared a small smile, linking their hands together before shutting the front door.

* * *

"I had a lovely evening, thank you," said Kurt quietly, smiling brilliantly at Blaine, who had walked him to his door.

"It was my pleasure," replied Blaine. He then gently picked up Kurt's free hand in his own and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it. He flashed Kurt one last dazzling smile before turning and leaving him, a faint blush spreading over Kurt's cheeks.

Kurt took a shaky breath, grinning like mad, and opened his door. Once he had put a sleeping Matthew into his cot he fell backwards onto his own bed, wondering how he got so lucky.

* * *

On Saturday Kurt made his customary trip to the music shop, not lingering too long because Nick was off and Blaine needed to work. Sunday was filled with dirty washing, cleaning up baby sick and happy singing from Kurt with the occasional happy gurgle from Matthew.

Monday arrived with more sun and less customers, people preferring to enjoy the lovely weather than sit inside the rather stuffy diner. Kurt stood behind the counter, leaning casually on the surface as Kathy waltzed a mop around the mostly empty diner.

"One, two, three, one, two, three-"

"You know, you're actually pretty good," commented Kurt as he watched her dance.

"I know," replied Kathy, smirking but not stopping. "My mum taught me before she left."  
"Your mum left?" asked Kurt, realising he knew very little about the 18 year old girl.

"Yeah, a couple of years ago. Dunno where she went," Kathy shrugged. "But now I live with my dad. Which is okay I guess."

"Oh..."

"Who do you live with? Unless you live on your own, that's kinda sad, dude."

"No, I live with my son," explained Kurt with a smile.

"Woah," Kathy stopped dancing to stare at Kurt. "You have a son? I didn't know that!"

"Well, I didn't know about you living with just your dad."

"That's different. You look well young to have a son, how old is he?"

"Err, nearly eight months," replied Kurt, watching in amusement as Kathy let out a squeal.

"Oh my God, that's too cute. Can I see him? If you ever need a babysitter..._duuude_ please ask me," Kathy begged, looking up at Kurt with big round eyes.

"I'll think about it," mused Kurt. "Although I'm not sure if you're entirely suitable to babysit my baby son." Kurt raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"No way, I'm totally suitable. I'm like...the most responsible person you're ever gonna meet."

"I'm sure," chuckled Kurt. Their conversation was paused as a customer walked up to the counter to order a cool drink. Kathy didn't get another opportunity to beg Kurt to babysit after that as Blaine strolled in, a wide smile on his face.

"Good afternoon," greeted Blaine as he pushed his sunglasses up.

"Hi," replied Kurt, a little giddy smile on his face.

"Oh God, the sexual tension is too much to bear!" groaned Kathy, walking away, mop in hand. Both men stood there for a moment in silence as their cheeks burned.

"Err..." started Kurt, coughing slightly.

"Uhm...anyway," Blaine moved forwards to the counter. "I have a present for you."

"What?" asked Kurt, intrigued. "You didn't have to get me a present."

"But I wanted to," insisted Blaine with a wink. He dug his hand into his pocked and pulled out a small key ring with something dangling from it. He held it out to Kurt who took it gently and held it in his open palm. It was a small, delicate wooden guitar, painted a light blue with silver strings.

"Cornflower blue," said Blaine softly.

"You remembered," Kurt looked up at Blaine with wide eyes.

"Of course," replied Blaine. "Sorry if it's not very smooth, usually Jeff makes them to sell in the shop, but he showed me how and I'm afraid this is my first one."

"You made this?" asked Kurt in wonder.

"Yup," replied Blaine, wiggling his fingers and Kurt saw the plasters wrapped around at least three of them. "I'm a bit of an amateur."

"Oh my gosh, Blaine, your fingers!" gasped Kurt, gently tugging one of his hands onto the counter between them, carefully laying his gift to one side. "You silly man," sighed Kurt, bringing Blaine's hand up to press a gentle kiss to each of the plaster covered fingers. When he looked up again Blaine was staring at him with wide eyes.

"I'll be silly more often if it means you do that," breathed Blaine.

Kurt chuckled lightly before saying seriously, "Don't hurt yourself on my account though, please."

"I'll do my best," promised Blaine with a laugh. "I have a question for you."

"Oh really?" asked Kurt, sliding his fingers between Blaine's to get a more comfortable grip.

"Yup," said Blaine, leaning on the counter and squeezing Kurt's hand. "Would you do me the honour of letting me cook dinner for you sometime this week? Matthew would also be very welcome as well, of course."

"Yes," said Kurt, pressing his lips together to contain his overly joyous smile. "That would be lovely, thank you."

"It's my pleasure," Blaine seemed to breath a sigh of relief.

* * *

**Sorry for the short-ish chapter! Longer ones to come, I promise.  
**

**So, a question for you dear readers: Would you prefer Klaine to kiss sooner (as in, in the next couple of chapters) or later and pace it out more, this would allow for fluffy cheek kisses and nervous hand holding and so forth.  
**

**So let me know which one you would prefer!  
**

**Thank you :) xx  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Guys, your reviews actually make me squeal and clap my hands in excitement. No lie dudes.  
**

**Anyway, sorry for the late chapter update, but it was my birthday and I was doing stuff. But all the reviews were like wonderous little birthday presents, so thank you!  
**

**This chapter's author who left a lovely review last time is:** _Thegirlwholovespeanutbutter_ **As well as everyone else, of course, but go check out her stories too. ;)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gleeeeeee. );  
**

* * *

It was Friday evening of that week that the two men decided to have their date. Kurt was just getting ready in his room when Matthew wailed loudly from where he was sat next to his cot.

"Dah!" He was sticking his hands through the wooden bars in an attempt to reach a toy inside the cot.

"Oh dear, Mattie, are your arms not long enough? Do you want Daddy to help?" Kurt walked over to the cot.

"Ah!" More grabby hands.

"Do you want Bagpus?" asked Kurt, reaching over his son and the side of the cot to offer the pink striped cat.

"Nahhh!" wailed Matthew, pushing the toy away.

"Tony?" Kurt reached this time for a small toy meercat. Matthew made a happy gurgle and clutched the stuffed toy to his chest once Kurt gave it to him.

"Okay, are you going to let Daddy get ready now?" He was ignored in favour of sucking on one of Tony's ears.

It was half an hour later that Kurt knocked on the door of a modest, yet very well kept house, glancing one last time down at the directions Blaine had given him.

The door opened to reveal a grinning Blaine, dressed casually but with his hair slightly styled to show he had made an effort. Before either man could say hi, Matthew let out a high-pitched "Ablaba!"

"Hello to you too, Mattie," chuckled Blaine before moving backwards and beckoning the two in. Kurt looked around appreciatively at the neat, tasteful décor.

"Wow, I forget how messy my flat is..." mumbled Kurt, turning around to take it in.

"Naw, your home looks lived in. Mine just looks...cold," shrugged Blaine. "But you certainly brighten it up." Blaine looked at Kurt with a nervous smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

At this point Matthew whimpered and then wailed loudly, patting his father's chest hard to get his attention.

"Dahhh!"

"Oh dear, is he alright?" asked Blaine in concern, taking in the tiny boy's scrunched up face.

"Don't worry, he just dropped Tony," realised Kurt, bending with Matthew still in his arms to scoop up the meercat.

"Tony?" asked Blaine with amusement.

"Well, err, he kind of looks like Tony Blair..." coughed Kurt, gesturing to the ears that stuck out prominently, and which Matthew had returned to sucking. Blaine laughed and grabbed Kurt's free hand to lead him into the kitchen.

* * *

It was an hour later and Matthew was asleep on the couch, a line of pillows placed along the edge to help prevent him rolling off, and Kurt and Blaine were still in the kitchen having finished the delicious meal that Blaine had prepared and were now drinking wine.

"Tell me about your brothers," requested Kurt, sipping delicately on his wine.

"Oh God, well there's Cooper, he's the oldest," started Blaine, Kurt nodding along. "And he's an actor-"

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, nothing too big yet though, but enough for a stable income," chuckled Blaine. "But he's very...confident I guess you could say. Not afraid to voice his opinions. And then there's Leo and he's the smart one of the family."

"I think you're smart," said Kurt slightly shyly.

"Thank you, but Leo's _really_ smart. He has a degree in English literature and reads up on physics in his spare time."

"Ridiculous," teased Kurt, noting Blaine's incredulous tone. "Do they have any family? Partners? Children? Are you an Uncle Blaine?"

"So many questions," chuckled Blaine.

"I'm curious," said Kurt with a shrug, smiling at the other man.

"Well Cooper is happily married with two children, so yes, I'm an uncle. Which is pretty awesome, I'm known as the fun uncle, which greatly annoys poor Leo, because I stock up on ice cream before they visit," said Blaine with a wink.

"Buying their love with ice cream?" laughed Kurt.

"Exactly. And Leo has a girlfriend, _fiancée_ should I say. They're getting married in a month," continued Blaine with a happy smile. "And then there's me, sad and alone," he joked.

"You have me?" said Kurt quietly, biting his lip.

"Yeah, I do." Blaine reached across the table to lightly hold Kurt's hand in his own.

* * *

Kurt had mentally recorded that evening as one of the best in his life, grinning to himself as he drove home, nattering to a sleepy Matthew about every little detail. The young boy didn't seem to care much and promptly fell asleep once he was placed in his cot.

He had told Blaine that he was planning on visiting his parents again on Saturday, but that maybe they could do something Sunday. Blaine had seemed enthusiastic about this and started planning a picnic as the weather had been so lovely the past couple of weeks.

But as Kurt sat in his father and Carole's house and watched the rain pouring from the skies he chuckled to himself at the thought of having a picnic. Maybe he could persuade Blaine to have an indoor picnic, he pondered to himself.

"You look in deep thought," commented Carole as she sat down next to him on the window seat.

"Mm," replied Kurt vaguely.

"How's Blaine?" asked Carole with a smile. A knowing smile.

"Fine..." hedged Kurt, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

"Have you kissed him yet?" she asked in a stage whisper.

"What? No!" spluttered Kurt. "I-I couldn't-can't...I just..."

"It's alright, Kurt. It's okay to like him, you know," said Carole gently, squeezing his arm.

"Is it though?"

"Of course it is. And he obviously likes you back."

"But what if he doesn't? What if he's just another Nathan?" It tore at Kurt's heart to think this.

"I don't think that's true, do you?" asked Carole, smiling softly.

"No...no I don't," admitted Kurt. "It feels different with Blaine. He makes me feel good...and I look forward to seeing him every lunch time. And he loves Matthew, and...I don't think Nathan ever did..." he trailed of in a whisper.

"I think he cares a great deal for you, Kurt," said Carole. "I really do, don't push him away." She reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear, which she hadn't done in years and the motherly gesture made him smile.

"I won't."

* * *

The rain was still pouring that evening as he left, Burt calling out to him to be careful on the slippery roads. He quickly strapped Matthew up in his car seat and settled himself into the drivers seat, ignoring the dodgy noise the engine made as he turned it on. It was probably just wet, he assured himself.

But halfway to his house the engine spluttered and died completely.

"No, no, no," moaned Kurt, trying in vain to restart it. He let his head fall onto the steering wheel and took a deep breath. He stepped out of the car, into the rain that drenched him immediately, and pushed the car the short distance to the hard shoulder. It wasn't a very big or heavy car, but it was still an exhausting thing to do. He sat back down inside the car and wondered what to do now, trying very hard not to cry. He was a grown man, he could deal with this.

But then Matthew started to cry.

And cry.

Kurt, with a few traitorous tears slipping down his own cheeks, looked around at his surroundings. It wasn't too far to walk, he supposed. An hour at most. But then he realised who's house was closer, and with one more look at his crying son he made up his mind.

He shrugged his coat off and moved around the car to take Matthew from his seat, bundling the little boy in his coat to protect him from the rain and holding him close to his chest. He locked the car doors and started walking.

* * *

**Oh dear...another short chapter...sorry ): (But I have lots planned out!)  
**

**And can you guess who's house he's walking to? ;)  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello! Sorry for the wait, I was inspired to write a oneshot (go read it! If you want...)  
**

**A couple of people pointed out that Kurt should have just called...and I was like Oh yeah...duh... But I hope what I've done in this chapter makes sense! xD  
**

**Special thanks to** _peanutmeg _**for the lovely review and also for helping me come up with a plan as to why Kurt didn't just call! So thank you! =)****  
**

**Disclaimer: I doughnut own Glee.  
**

* * *

Blaine didn't mind living alone most of the time, he could practice violin in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep, he could buy a tub of ice cream and eat it all in one sitting whilst watching a tear-jerking film with an intended target audience of teenage girls, and no one would be there to judge him or tell him to shut the hell up.

He worked six days a week in a fantastic little music shop with two of his best friends, and often organised to do things with them on the Sunday. But occasionally he did feel slightly lonely.

He absent-mindedly stirred his tea and then wandered into the living room to switch on the TV in hopes of finding something good to watch. He had texted Kurt earlier, but had received no reply. He was probably busy with his parents and Matthew, but he would see him tomorrow and he didn't want to seem clingy and annoying.

A repeat of Friends came on and Blaine sang along to the opening theme, folding his legs underneath him on the sofa to get comfortable and enjoying the splattering sound of rain on the window.

It was a couple of minutes later that the doorbell rang and Blaine looked up in confusion, placing his mostly empty mug on the coffee table before standing and walking over to the door. _Who would be ringing the doorbell at this hour?_

He opened it and blinked as droplets of rain flew inside. He then focused on the figure in front of him.

"Oh my God, _Kurt?_" gasped Blaine, ushering the shivering man into his house, his coat bundled in his arms.

"I'm s-sorry," stuttered Kurt, shaking from the cold. "I t-tried to ring, b-but my phone-and...and-"

"Hey, hey," said Blaine softly, reaching up to gently wipe Kurt's sopping hair from his eyes. "It's alright."

"G-god, I'm so stupid," croaked Kurt, still shaking violently.

"No, no you're not," said Blaine firmly. "Come on, lets get you warmed up." He moved closer and saw that the bundle in Kurt's arms was an equally cold Matthew, staring up at him with sleepy, red eyes from crying. He gently took Matthew out of Kurt's arms and guided Kurt to his sofa.

"Sit down, I'll find you some dry clothes and some blankets," said Blaine, unwrapping Matthew from the wet coat to hang it up, then cradling the little boy in his arms as he went to his bedroom in search of dry clothes. He found a pair of warm pyjama bottoms that had always been slightly long for him, a faded band t-shirt and his old overly-large Dalton Academy hoodie.

"I now they're not very fashionable, do you think your daddy will mind?" Blaine asked Matthew who continued to stare up it him with his wide blue eyes as Blaine folded the clothes over his arm. "I'm afraid I don't have any clothes in your size, but you seem to be pretty dry," said Blaine as he made his way back to Kurt. "We can just wrap you two up in a warm blanket, can't we?"

Kurt was standing next to the sofa, vaguely watching the Friends episode that Blaine had left on.

"You could have sat down, Kurt," said Blaine softly.

"I didn't want to make your sofa wet," replied Kurt, looking down.

"You're more important than my sofa," assured Blaine, placing Matthew down on the sofa before handing the clothes to Kurt. "Here, change into these, hopefully they'll fit alright."

"Thank you," said Kurt earnestly, taking the clothes and offering Blaine a shaky smile.

"I'll go find some blankets."

A few minutes later and Kurt was bundled up in Blaine's clothes and several blankets, a sniffling Matthew curled up asleep against his chest.

"Would you like some tea? Coffee?" offered Blaine, hovering next to the two.

"No, thank you," mumbled Kurt gratefully. Blaine nodded and sat down next to Kurt on the sofa, keeping a respectable distance. Kurt ignored this and shuffled closer in order to rest his head on Blaine's shoulder. "Thank you so much," he whispered. "I'm so sorry for just turning up, my car broke down and my phone was out of battery because I had left my charger at home and-"

"Hey, no, don't worry about it," interrupted Blaine, hesitantly wrapping an arm around Kurt's waist. "I really don't mind."

"Thank you," mumbled Kurt again. "You're wonderful," he added sleepily, closing his eyes as he snuggled slightly into Blaine's shoulder. Blaine gulped as he felt his heart racing and placed a light kiss to Kurt's hair.

"You're not so bad yourself."

He wasn't sure if Kurt had heard him as moments later soft, snuffling snores sounded as Kurt's breathing became heavier. Blaine remained on his sofa, enjoying the feeling of a rapidly warming Kurt in his arms.

* * *

Kurt opened his eyes blearily, vaguely registering that what he saw was not his bedroom. In fact, what he saw was not much more than blue patterned sofa cushions. He mumbled sleepily and rolled over onto his other side.

"Morning, sleepyhead!" chirped Blaine from somewhere. Kurt tilted his head to see Blaine sitting on the matching two seater with Matthew happily sitting on his lap.

Kurt sat up abruptly, suddenly realising where he was and what must have happened.

"Nice hair," teased Blaine. Kurt's hand flew to his hair in an attempt to flatten it from what was probably a severe case of bed-head.

"Uh, I'm so sorry," mumbled Kurt, adjusting the t-shirt and hoodie from where they had risen up slightly.

"Please don't worry about it, I'm sorry my sofa isn't more comfortable," chuckled Blaine.

"No, no, it's nice," said Kurt, voice still thick with sleep. "What are you up to?" He fidgeted slightly into a more comfortable position and drew the blankets up to his chest where he was sitting.

"We're reading Harry Potter, aren't we Matthew?" said Blaine looking down at the boy on his lap and holding up the weathered looking paperback.

"Ah!"

"If his first word is '_Expelliarmus_' I'm gonna kill you," muttered Kurt fondly, turning his head to watch the two.

"Nuuh!" squealed Matthew, pointing to the book in Blaine's hand.

"Alright, so demanding," sighed Blaine dramatically, before winking at Kurt and adjusting his hold on the book so both could see. He continued to read from where he had presumably left off and Matthew listened with rapt attention, giggling when Blaine put on a silly voice for Hagrid.

And so they did end up spending their Sunday together, just not in the way they expected. The two men continued to get to know each other and Matthew seemed thrilled by the attention from Blaine, squealing in excitement as he was fed mashed up banana, aeroplane style.

"If you continue this, he's going to prefer you to me," grumbled Kurt good-naturedly as he watched Blaine make little people from A4 sheets of paper, colouring them in with great care. "And you know he's just going to stick those in his mouth."

"Shh," said Blaine with a grin, "I don't have any baby toys for him to play with, so it is only expected of me, as the host, to provide him with some."

It was a few hours later that Matthew was dozing happily in Kurt's lap, a ball of soggy paper ex-people clutched in his tiny fist.

* * *

When it started to get dark Kurt realised with a jolt that they both had work the next morning and he had probably overstayed his welcome and he had no way of getting home. Blaine calmed his worries with his simple suggestion of driving Kurt and Matthew home, insisting that he didn't mind and that it was the perfect excuse to spend a little more time with the other man, to which Kurt blushed.

Blaine also insisted on walking Kurt to his door, entwining their hands together for the short walk. They stood outside Kurt's door for a few moments, unwilling to say goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow," said Blaine, as if in consolation.

"That's ages away," mumbled Kurt with a pout. Blaine laughed and stepped closer so their toes were nearly touching.

"Goodnight, Kurt," he whispered and leant forwards to press a tentative kiss to Kurt's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

And then he left, leaving a speechless, grinning Kurt behind him.

* * *

**So a fluffy chapter for you there! To help prepare you for a little angst I am planning to bring into future chapters...**

**If you liked it...review? =)  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**Oh gosh, I'm so sorry for the long wait! I had some personal stuff and then it was really sunny outside... But thank you, you beautiful readers and reviewers! You make me VAIR HAPPY.  
**

**I hope you haven't given up on this story!  
**

**Disclaimer: Glee belongs to someone. But not me.  
**

* * *

"Dad, hi!" said Kurt cheerfully when he picked up the phone, pressing it between his ear and shoulder as he wiped green spinach-y baby food from Matthew's hands.

"_Hey, buddy!_"

"What do I owe the pleasure of this Monday evening call?"

"_Ha, well-_" Burt's words were interrupted by a loud yelp from Matthew, who was bashing his now clean hands on the plastic table of his high chair.

"One second, Dad," said Kurt, hoisting the boy from his confinement and setting him down in the living room where he excitedly crawled over to his plastic farm animals. "Okay, baby's happy. What's up?"

"_I was wondering if you two wanted to come to the beach next weekend. I have yet to teach my grandson how to make sandcastles._"

Kurt hesitated for a split second, remembering his dislike for beaches and the sand that gets absolutely _everywhere_. But Matthew might enjoy it, and he constantly felt bad for leaving his little boy in the hands of someone else every weekday.

"Okay, sounds great," agreed Kurt, nodding and beaming at Matthew who was insistently showing him a piece of plastic fence from his toy farm set. Once he'd hung up the phone, Kurt slouched into the couch.

"Ugh, the beach, Mattie. I am _not_ a beach person," he moaned, looking up to see his son engrossed in his toys. "I'm only doing this for you, you know," he said playfully, scooping Matthew up and nuzzling his tummy while the boy squealed in delight. "Because you're my favourite person in the _whole_ wide world. Yes you are!" He adjusted a giggling Matthew more comfortably in his arms before taking him to the bedroom and setting him down in front of the orderly pile of children's books next to the cot.

"Choose a story, Mattie," cooed Kurt, picking a few up and laying them out. Matthew, obviously not quite understanding Kurt's words, grabbed at least five, cradling them in his small arms. "Just one, sweetie," chuckled Kurt, picking up the first one Matthew had picked and settling himself into the small old armchair.

Matthew, indignant at having his book taken, crawled over to the chair and patted Kurt's feet and then held his arms up to be lifted. Kurt obliged, letting his son snuggle into his lap as he opened the book.

"Dah!" exclaimed Matthew, pointing to the colourful drawing of a tiger on the first page.

"Yes, it's a tiger!" said Kurt, before tucking Matthew's head under his chin and reading the story in soft, quiet tones, lulling the little boy to sleep.

* * *

"So, have any plans this weekend?" asked Blaine casually with a little smile as he took up his usual spot at the counter, ignoring the looks from customers.

"Yes, actually," replied Kurt chuckle and Blaine pouted with disappointment. "I'm going to the beach with Mattie, my dad and Carole," he explained.

"Ahh, well," Blaine sighed. "I'll miss you."

"We can do something in the evening one day this week," suggested Kurt. "If you come to my place I'll cook?"

"That sounds positively wonderful," said Blaine with a wide grin. "And be sure to send me a picture of you and Mattie at the beach!"

* * *

Wednesday evening Blaine came round and Kurt was, once again, reminded of how happy the other man made him. The mere thought of letting him go pained his heart.

* * *

"What about here?" suggested Carole as the four of them lugged bags of towels and various beach equipment across the sand.

"Lovely," agreed Burt, spreading out their old picnic blanket. Kurt brought up the rear, bag in one hand and Matthew on the opposite hip.

"You alright there, Kurt? I could have carried the bag," said Carole, taking the bag from Kurt to put it with the others.

"It's fine, this little monster just won't stop squirming," said Kurt fondly, as Matthew turned his head in every direction to take in the unusual scenery. He sat down on the rug with Matthew on his lap, searching through one of the bags.

"Right mister, let's get you all suncreamed up," announced Kurt, wielding the tube of suncream. Matthew looked rather alarmed as Kurt rubbed the cream into his skin, waving his arms and screwing up his face. "And now, the finishing touches..." Kurt gently pulled a small blue sun hat onto the boy's head.

"He looks adorable," cooed Carole.

"Of course he does, he's my son," beamed Kurt, adjusting the sunglasses on his nose. "Hey Mattie," Kurt stage-whispered in his ear. "I think Grandpa wants to make a sandcastle with you."

Kurt set Matthew on the edge of the rug and the boy was completely enraptured by the blue bucket that Burt handed him, the older man excitedly and patiently going through the process of making a sandcastle.

"Okay, tap it on the top, we need to make sure the sand doesn't stick," urged Burt, gently helping Matthew raise the small plastic spade and tap the top of the upturned bucket.

"Ah!" Matthew hit the bucket without assistance from Burt, turning his head to find Kurt and squealing again to get his attention before going back to hit the bucket.

"Okay, okay, kiddo," laughed Burt, calming the little boy. "Shall we see if it worked?" Burt lifted the bucket to reveal a perfectly formed sandcastle.

"Oh, that's beautiful," said Kurt, edging closer to sit next to his son, nodding appreciatively. Matthew giggled, reaching out with his hands to grab the sandcastle, effectively squashing it.

"Nuhh!" yelped Matthew in panic as the fine sand coated his fingers. "Uh!" he held them away from his body with wide eyes.

"Hey, hey, it's just sand, Mattie," Kurt tried to reassure, "Look, it comes off again." He brushed at the sand on the boy's fingers as Matthew stared in wonder.

"Ooh, who fancies a swim?" asked Carole, gazing at the cool water gently lapping at the sand.

"I bet Matthew does," grinned Burt. "His first sea experience, let's hope it goes better than yours." Kurt sent him a glare before sighing and agreeing to accompany them to the water. He had changed into his swim shorts before arriving, thus avoiding the sandy consequences of getting changed on a beach. He kept his thin t-shirt on, aware of how easily he burnt and knowing he wouldn't go very far out with Matthew.

Matthew instantly loved the sea. Kurt held him under the arms and hovered him above the shallow surface, waiting for the calm waves to tickle at Matthew's toes, causing the boy to giggle and wiggle his legs around.

Kurt ended up sitting at the waters edge, each wave sending more sand up his shorts, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care as Matthew sat between his legs splashing in the clear water.

"Ooh, Dad? Will you get my phone and take a picture? I promised I'd send one to Blaine," Kurt suddenly recalled. Carole sent him a sly wink and Kurt just rolled his eyes.

"Okay...how do I work this thing?" mumbled Burt, returning with Kurt's iphone.

"Don't drop it!" squeaked Kurt as Burt moved to stand in the water in front of the two. Kurt guided his father to the camera and Burt held it up.

"Say cheese!" Kurt smiled up at the camera, pointing at it to get Matthew to look as well.

"Thanks dad," said Kurt before quickly stopping Matthew eat a handful of wet sand.

* * *

It was almost evening and they had all eaten chips that Burt had bought for them, except Matthew who got some baby mush that Kurt had brought with them. Carole was humming softly to a sleeping Matthew in her arms and Kurt had walked down to stand ankle deep in the water with his dad.

"I'm so proud of you Kurt," sighed Burt happily, turning his face to Kurt. "It's not easy raising a kid by yourself, I know."

"I turned out okay," grinned Kurt.

"Yeah," chuckled Burt. "But I had your mum for the first eight years, I had no clue what I was doing."

"You were great, I couldn't have asked for a better dad," said Kurt. Burt sniffed before pulling his son into a tight hug.

"Besides," said Kurt, letting go but bumping shoulders with Burt. "I have you and Carole and-"

"Blaine?"

"I...err..." faltered Kurt.

"It's okay, you know. You deserve to be happy and have someone there for you."

"I know..." sighed Kurt. "I just need to make sure...that I'm doing the right thing. I really like him...just everything about him. But I just need to make sure."

"Yeah, I get it," nodded Burt.

* * *

Later, when Matthew had been put to bed and Burt and Carole were watching something on TV, Kurt pulled out his phone and sent the photo Burt had taken at the beach to Blaine. He hesitated before pressing send and quickly added a kiss and sent it before he could change his mind.

He joined his father and Carole to watch whatever they had chosen. Five minutes later his phone _pinged_, alerting him that he had received a text.

From Blaine: _Okay, if you don't let me put that as my background I might cry. x_

Kurt stared at the little 'x' at the end and smiled, biting his lip as he tapped out a reply.

* * *

**Not much Blaine in this chapter, sorry! There will be plenty more of him, never fear.  
**

**So how did you like Matthew's first outing to the beach?  
**

**ALSO. I have never been to Ohio. I don't know if there's a beach. It's no where near the coast. It seems unlikely. But let's just pretend...yes? =D  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**Eek! Sorry this took so long!  
**

**I'm sorry to say that I had completely lost the urge to write this story, but the reviews I recieved in the last few weeks were so lovely and encouraging that I felt inspired to try harder. So thank you, so much.  
**

**This was a difficult chapter to write, so I really hope it doesn't suck. =)  
**

* * *

"_I have a brilliant idea_," was all Kurt heard when he picked up his ringing phone.

"That sounds ominous," said Kurt warily, shoving the dirty washing into the washing machine one-handed as he held his phone to his ear. "A 'Rachel Idea' is not a synonym for 'Good Idea'."

"_Oh hush, you_," retorted Rachel. "_You'll like this one_."

"If you say so," sighed Kurt, kicking the washing machine lightly to get it going.

"_I was thinking,_" she started. "_I was thinking how before I have children of my own-_"

"Lord help us all," muttered Kurt.

"_I'll need some practice,_" she continued, ignoring his comment. "_So how about Finn and I look after Matthew this weekend?_"

"Rachel..." said Kurt hesitantly.

"_No, listen_," she insisted. "_It'll just be one night and it's not like I haven't looked after the little angel before. And plus...then you'd have an evening free for _Blaine_._" She singsonged the last word, and Kurt could practically hear her winking.

"I don't know..." Kurt rubbed his temple.

"_Please, Kurt,_" whined Rachel. "_I promise to take care of him, you know I will._"

"Fine," relented Kurt, wincing at the squeals emitted from the other end of the line.

So it was planned that next weekend Rachel would come and pick Matthew up early afternoon, staying long enough to have lunch with them (because she was "_dying_ to meet Blaine") and also have the honours of dropping him home again on the Sunday. And as much as he hated being away from his son, he had to admit he was looking forward to an evening with Blaine.

He smiled to himself and sent off a text.

_Hey, are you free Sat evening? _x

* * *

The week progressed as any other week, in fact Kurt had almost forgotten what his weeks were like before Blaine. A lot more lonely, was his first thought.

"So...is he a good kisser?" asked Kathy with a smirk on Friday morning before the café had opened to the public.

"What?" spluttered Kurt slightly, fumbling with his notebook as he stuffed it into the front of his apron.

"_Blaine_," drawled Kathy.

"We haven't-I mean...I just...How did you-"

"You ain't kissed him yet?" asked Kathy with shock, mouth falling into an 'o'.

"Well I-"

"Well get a move on, dude! Lay one on that cute face." She nodded seriously at him before turning away, leaving a slightly stunned Kurt.

* * *

"Soo," sang Rachel who sat down primly on Kurt's sofa. "Where are you two going to go this evening?"

"Hello to you too," muttered Kurt, closing the front door behind her. She didn't reply, just looking expectantly at him. "Just out to dinner again, nothing fancy."

"You know what would be romantic?" said Rachel with a dreamy sigh. "To go and see a theatre performance. You should take him!"

"Sitting in a dark theatre doesn't really allow for much talking," pointed out Kurt, with a raised eyebrow.

"Will you come and see me?" asked Rachel hesitantly, playing with her fingers. "In my performance?"

"Rachel, of course I will!" exclaimed Kurt, sitting down next to Rachel on the sofa. "Of _course_ I-why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know," Rachel shrugged. "I don't want it to seem as though I'm..._gloating_. Because I'm not," she said insistently with wide eyes. "You're my best friend and I honestly just want you to be there."

"And I will," said Kurt calmly with a smile. "I'll be there to cheer you on. I've already said this, Rachel, I'm honestly happy for you."

"Thank you," she sniffed before coughing and saying brightly, "Well, where is the little angel?"

"Napping," replied Kurt, casting a glance towards the bedroom. "He decided to cry the majority of last night."

"Oh, Kurt," sighed Rachel with sympathy, now noticing the consequences of tiredness around the man's eyes.

"It's fine," Kurt waved her off. "Now tell me the dates of your show, I can book it into my diary now."

It was only a few minutes later when there was another knock on the door. Rachel stopped mid-sentence to smile gleefully at Kurt before jumping up and running to answer the door. She opened it with a flourish and a breathless smile to a rather startled Blaine.

"You must be-"

"Rachel!" cut off Rachel, thrusting out a hand to shake. "I've heard so much about you, Blaine."

"Oh, well...likewise," replied Blaine with a faint blush as he shook her hand. Rachel ushered the man inside, bouncing slightly on her toes.

"Hello," greeted Kurt with a shy smile once Rachel had closed the front door.

"Kurt," replied Blaine, a wide grin making itself known across his face as he walked over to the other man. "You look tired," he murmured softly, reaching one hand up to lightly cup Kurt's face and run his thumb over the dark shadow beneath his eye.

"Long night," said Kurt with a wry smile and shoulder shrug, skin tingling from where Blaine's palm touched it.

"Shall we have lunch?" asked Rachel loudly, clapping her hands together. "I've brought some really nice bread and some vegan cheese because I know for a fact, Kurt Hummel, that you do not have any in your fridge."

"She's...bouncy," commented Blaine as they watched Rachel disappear into the small kitchen.

"That's one way of putting it," chuckled Kurt. He turned back to face Blaine and he was suddenly aware of how very close he was. "I should er...go wake Matthew up."

"Okay," said Blaine with a smile. "I'll go and bond with your bestie."

Kurt laughed and leant his head in to give Blaine a quick peck on the cheek before hurrying off to the bedroom.

It was quiet in the small room, the only sound being his son's soft deep breathing, heavy with sleep. Kurt reached a hand into the cot to stroke Matthew's cheek with the back of his finger, smiling as the small boy stirred but did not wake.

"Come on, Mattie," he said softly. "We have guests, and I feel you shall be far better at entertaining them than myself."

Matthew mumbled sleepily as Kurt lifted him from the cot and settled him on his hip. The little boy gripped his small hand into Kurt's shirt and rested his warm cheek against his father's chest, blinking sleepily. The hand that was not clutched to Kurt's shirt hung limply with a small toy rabbit loosely held in his grasp.

"Oh look, it's my little nephew!" squealed Rachel, slightly more quietly than she normally would have spoken. She left Blaine in the kitchen who was setting plates out to dash over to Kurt, holding her hands out.

"Can I hold him, Kurt? Can I feed him?"

"Sure," replied Kurt, pressing a kiss to his son's forehead before gently handing him over to Rachel. Matthew frowned slightly at being taken away from the comfortable hold of his father, not immediately letting go of his shirt.

"Hey there, little guy," cooed Rachel, bouncing him on her hip. Matthew, too sleepy to argue, simply snuggled up to her instead.

Lunch was a surprisingly nice spread of bread, cheese and salad, which Kurt and Blaine enjoyed while Rachel mostly fed Matthew, fidgeting with delight when she got him to happily swallow the majority of his mushy food.

After they had all eaten and washed up Kurt made sure Matthew was ready to go.

"And remember Rachel," he said as he placed nappies into a bag, "His bedtime is six o'clock, but if he doesn't go to sleep just leave him or read him stories if you want, and if he cries then...well ring me if you're not sure but check his nappy and-"

"He's been through this at least five times," Rachel stage-whispered to Blaine who had pressed his lips together to stop an amused smile.

"Rachel," sighed Kurt with a frown. "I'm serious, I just...I just worry."

"I know, honey," said Rachel, "But everything will be fine, I promise."

Kurt nodded, teeth biting at his lip before turning to where Blaine was holding Matthew. Kurt pulled on the boy's socks where they were starting to slip off his feet and then took him from Blaine.

"I'll miss you," he mumbled, his lips pressed to Matthew's soft hair. "Be good for your Auntie Rachel and I'll see you tomorrow." He kissed him one last time before handing him to Rachel, who had the bag slung over one arm.

"Are you really worried she won't be able to handle it?" asked Blaine as they watched Rachel drive away, Matthew safely strapped in his baby seat in the back seat.

"Not really," said Kurt after a pause. "She is a little scatterbrained sometimes, but I'm sure they'll be fine. I just hate being away from him. And I hate the way that makes me sound like an overbearing parent, but the weekend is the only time I get to spend proper amounts of time with him. And he's so little...I worry..."

"It's completely natural to worry," soothed Blaine. "It's your job as a parent to worry."

"He'll hate it when he's older," said Kurt with a small smile at the corner of his mouth.

"All kids go through a phase of being completely embarrassed by their parents," chuckled Blaine, "I remember being mortified when my mother brought in my lunch that I had left at home, came bustling straight into my science class, shaking it out in front of her and tutting."

Kurt laughed at that, turning to Blaine with amusement twinkling in his eyes.

Seeing as they had a few hours to kill before dinner, Kurt suggested they go for a walk. The air outside was warm, the slight wind curling about their ears.

As they walked to a nearby park they talked, hands swinging separately between them. Kurt itched to just angle his hand slightly to tangle it with Blaine's, and spent most of the walk trying to build up the courage to do just that.

They spent the rest of the day talking. Lots of talking, but Kurt never tired of Blaine's voice. At one point they sat in the shade of a large tree, leaning against its trunk and laughing about nothing and everything.

But it was on the way back that Blaine casually reached between them and held Kurt's hand, gently tangling their fingers together.

"Is this okay?" he asked with a small, hesitant smile.

"Yeah," breathed Kurt, tightening his hold before returning the other man's smile. Blaine's hand was warm and fit perfectly with his own.

* * *

"I like your bow tie, did I mention that?" commented Kurt, twiddling his fork in his spaghetti.

"No," said Blaine with a pleased smile, "Thank you." He looked down to straighten his patterned bow tie.

"It's adorable," sighed Kurt, eyes widening as he realised how casually he had just blurted that out.

"Thank you," repeated Blaine, a faint blush colouring his cheeks.

"Anyway," coughed Kurt, looking back down at his plate. "How's your pasta?"

"Delicious," replied Blaine appreciatively, taking another mouthful. They were sat outside a small Italian restaurant that Kurt had discovered fairly recently. Their table was lit by candles and the warm glow from inside. The chatter of other people around them was quiet and it was easy to pretend it was just the two of them.

"Will I ever get to meet your brothers?" asked Kurt, recalling their conversation from earlier in the park when Blaine had talked enthusiastically about growing up as the youngest of three.

"You want to?" Blaine's eyes were bright and hopeful.

"Of course," said Kurt. "They sound like an interesting pair."

"That's one word I suppose," laughed Blaine, the corners of his eyes creasing. "Well, perhaps we should do a proper meet and greet of the family?" This was asked hesitantly by Blaine, peering into Kurt's eyes to gauge his reaction.

"Yeah," nodded Kurt. "Yeah, I'd like that."

They sat there quietly for a moment with silly smiles on their faces, breaking their gazes as the waiter came to take their empty plates away.

They held hands again on the way back, walking in comfortable silence. Kurt was biting his lip in an attempt to keep the bubbling happiness inside him, a small bounce to his step.

"Would you like to come in?" asked Kurt, gesturing pointlessly at the door with his keys. "I have coffee."

"That sounds wonderful," replied Blaine, squeezing Kurt's hand quickly before letting go so Kurt could unlock the door. Kurt's heart leapt a little as he saw Blaine carefully hang his coat up and arranged his shoes neatly by the door next to Kurt's.

"Coffee," said Kurt with a little nod, turning and walking to the kitchen. "Which mug?" asked Kurt, turning to Blaine who had sat down on one of the kitchen chairs, a white mug with a large ginger cat on it in one hand and a plain blue one in the other.

"The cat one, please," said Blaine. "He looks so happy, I feel the coffee would taste better in that mug." Kurt laughed at Blaine's strange logic and went about making the coffee.

While the water was boiling Kurt switched the radio on to his favourite channel, turning the volume down so it was just background noise. When he placed the two steaming mugs down on the table Blaine thanked him with his joyful smile and 'mmm'd as he took a sip.

"Oh, I love this song!" exclaimed Blaine suddenly as the song on the radio changed. He bounced to his feet. "Dance with me?"

"What?" spluttered Kurt.

"Dance with me?" repeated Blaine, a twinkle in his eyes now.

"Okay," breathed Kurt, setting his own mug down before standing and allowing Blaine to take his hands. Blaine dragged him into the largest space in the kitchen which was, admittedly, still a very small space.

Blaine crooned softly along to the words and slid his arms around Kurt's waist. Kurt hesitantly put his hands on Blaine's shoulders, sure that Blaine could feel his heartbeat thrumming through his body.

"Dance with me," Blaine repeated the words softly, encouraging Kurt to gently sway with him, a slight stepping of feet.

"This isn't really dancing," said Kurt quietly with a small laugh.

"It's an excuse to hold you close, though," was Blaine's soft reply, his arms secure and safe around Kurt. Kurt's breath hitched slightly and moved his arms so they were around the other man's shoulders.

Kurt had never felt this safe with Nathan. He had never felt so _loved_ and cherished as he did in that moment. He leant in until his forehead was resting against Blaine's, staring into those dark, honey coloured eyes, a profound sense of '_this is where I belong_' coursing through him.

Blaine leant a little closer until their noses just brushed before moving a tiny amount more until his nose was against the side of Kurt's own, but stopping there. Kurt's eyes fluttered closed and realised he so desperately wanted to kiss him, but Blaine wasn't showing any sign of moving closer.

But then Kurt realised that Blaine was waiting for _him_. He wanted their first kiss to be on Kurt's terms, after everything he had been through. The last thing Blaine wanted was to force Kurt into anything he didn't want to do.

It was this thought that pushed Kurt to tilt his head and bring his mouth to Blaine's.

He heard Blaine inhale sharply and felt his hold on his waist tighten slightly, but this was all mostly lost to the feeling of Blaine's lips. His lips that were pressed softly against his own in the most tender way possible.

Blaine pulled away too soon, but didn't move away too far. Kurt opened his eyes slowly, a smile making its way effortlessly across his face.

"Was that-" started Blaine, but Kurt just nodded his head, his nose running along Blaine's cheek before pulling him in again, needing to feel that mouth back on his.

* * *

**Please do review, it really does help. =)  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the short (rather rubbish) chapter that shall commence shortly! I'm not sure when I shall next have internet as I am in German Land.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WONDROUS REVIEWS! They made me so happy!  
**

* * *

Kurt fell into bed with a happy sigh, recalling the events of the evening.

Blaine had left quite late, leaving Kurt with a soft kiss that lasted longer than the first ones. Kurt could still feel a tingling trace of where Blaine's hand had gently cupped his jaw as their lips moved slowly together.

Kurt almost expected to wake up the next morning to find out it had all been a dream. He pulled his duvet up to his chin and closed his eyes, snuggling into his cosy bed with a warm feeling in his chest.

* * *

Kurt was awoken suddenly by the shrill ringing of his phone. He lurched forwards into a sitting position and snatched up his phone, croaking a "Hello?" while rubbing his eye with his spare hand.

"Kurt!" It was Rachel's voice.

"Rachel?" asked Kurt, suddenly feeling a lot more awake as he panicked, already halfway out of bed. "What's wrong? Is it Matthew?"

"Calm down, Kurt," said Rachel, her words marred slightly by the fact that her words did not sound calm at all.

"Rachel. I can hear him crying, what's wrong?" demanded Kurt.

"I think he might be sick."

"Sick?" repeated Kurt. "In what way?"

"He's crying really badly, he's feverish and has been sick. Finn's just walking him around the living room now."

"Oh God," breathed Kurt, squeezing his eyes shut. "I'm on my way."

"I'm so sorry, Kurt," said Rachel with a whimper. "It's not that we can't handle it, but I think Matthew really needs you right now." Kurt was now pulling on his shoes one handed and searching the kitchen table for his keys. "And Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"He...he said 'dada'," said Rachel quietly.

"He did?" breathed Kurt, pausing in his actions.

"Yeah," replied Rachel and Kurt could hear the small smile in her voice.

"I'll...I'll be there as soon as I can," said Kurt, pocketing his keys.

* * *

Kurt rang the doorbell, shifting from foot to foot anxiously. The door was opened by a somewhat tousled-looking Rachel holding a crying Matthew motherly in her arms.

"Finn's just taking a quick shower, Matthew vomited in his hair," explained Rachel, immediately handing over the sobbing boy.

Kurt could feel how warm he felt as he cradled his son to his chest. He pressed the back of his hand gently to Matthew's forehead before dropping it and pressing a kiss to his soft hair. The boy was still whimpering pitifully, body limp and clammy.

"Thank you, Rachel."

"It's really no problem, I'm sorry I had to call you," she sighed, reaching out to gently stroke Matthew's hair from his forehead. "But this little guy needed his daddy."

"Dada..." came a small voice from Kurt's arms as little fingers tightened in his pyjama top that he hadn't had time to change out of.

"Mattie," breathed Kurt, ducking his head to look into the sickly pale face of his son.

"Dada," whined Matthew, pressing his hot face into Kurt's chest, mouth falling open as he gasped out little sobs.

"Okay, honey," soothed Kurt, "Let's take you home."

"Unless you want to stay here?" offered Rachel. "You can sleep in the guest room and we have a spare toothbrush?"

Kurt took a deep breath. "Yeah...that would be...great. Thanks, Rachel."

"It's nothing," said Rachel, "I feel bad that we couldn't even look after him for one night."

"It's not your fault, Rachel," reassured Kurt. "Is it bad that I'm slightly amused that he puked on Finn?" he joked weakly.

Rachel laughed softly. "You should have seen his face."

The guest room was painted surprisingly tastefully in shades of lilac, although the scent of lavender was slightly overpowering.

He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, leaning against the headboard with Matthew in his arms, who hadn't quite quietened down yet when Finn walked in. His hair was damp and his t-shirt was on back-to-front, but he seemed unconcerned as he walked in and sat on the edge of the bed.

"You alright, man?"

"Yeah," nodded Kurt sleepily. "What about you? Feel prepared for when there are mini Hudsons crying and puking everywhere?"

Finn grimaced, "Dude, you know I can't do sick."

"Yeah, yeah, sympathy puker, I remember," said Kurt with a small smile.

"Will he be alright?" asked Finn, now looking down at Matthew.

"It's probably just a virus," said Kurt. "But if he's still this bad on Monday I'll take him to the doctor."

"Right," nodded Finn. "Sorry, I forget that you know what you're doing sometimes."

"It doesn't feel like it," admitted Kurt in a small voice, huddling closer to his son.

"Don't sweat it, you're like the perfect dad."

"Thank you," said Kurt earnestly, smiling at his brother.

It wasn't until a couple of hours later that Matthew finally fell asleep. Kurt carefully tucked him into the bed, snuggling down next to him, making sure not to wake him.

* * *

"I'm really sorry, but he's really sick and-"

"_Look, Kurt, I'm sorry to hear that, but I've already given you days off when I shouldn't have. Is there no one that can take him?"_

"Okay. Okay, fine," snapped Kurt. "See you tomorrow." He hung up without waiting for an answer, knowing he shouldn't have reacted like that to his boss, but he was frustrated. Tired, frustrated and worried.

"Are you alright, Kurt?" asked Rachel, coming over to where he was slouched in one of the barstools in her kitchen.

"Yeah," he sighed, running a hand down his face.

"What's wrong?" She rubbed his back soothingly.

"I don't really want Matthew to go into playgroup on Monday, whether he's seeming better or not. But I can't take the day off."

"Do you want me-"

"No, no," Kurt interrupted, looking up at Rachel. "You can't miss days now. Especially not now."

"What about Blaine?" she asked casually.

"I..." he stumbled over his words. "He has work. He can't...even if he could, I mean I can't just suddenly land him with a sick baby."

"Kurt," sighed Rachel with a hint of a smile playing about her lips. "I reckon Blaine would be honoured if you asked him. Like...really, really pleased."

* * *

"And you're _sure_?" asked Kurt again, pausing in his rushing to look Blaine in the eye.

"_Yes_, Kurt," chuckled Blaine. He stood watching Kurt with a dopey Matthew in his arms. "I shouldn't really be working Saturdays anyway, so the guys owe me a ton of days off."

Kurt nodded, but bit his lip with a guilty look in his eyes.

"Seriously," said Blaine earnestly, taking a step closer. "I love Mattie and I'd do anything to help you out."

"Thank you," said Kurt quietly. "Ring me...if anything happens."

"Of course," nodded Blaine before smiling cheekily. "Do I get a goodbye kiss?"

Kurt's face broke into a wide grin before reaching out a hand to Blaine's jaw and leaning across Matthew in his arms to press a kiss against Blaine's mouth.

"I have to go," mumbled Kurt against his lips.

"Mmm..." was the muffled reply from Blaine.

"Blaine," Kurt laughed, pulling away. He leant down to press a kiss to Matthew's forehead, which was a much more reassuring temperature than it had been the previous day.

"Bye, Mattie. Be nice to Blaine," he said softly, heart warming at how obviously comfortable the boy was in Blaine's arms.

He left the house, turning around when he got to his car to see Blaine standing in the doorway, watching him go with a wide smile. It felt so domestic and it sent a thrill through Kurt, leaving him in a good mood for the rest of the day.

* * *

Kurt returned home with slight trepidation, listening out for the screams of his son, but the house was all very quiet as he opened the door and slipped his coat and shoes off.

He walked to the small living room, chuckling lightly at the scattering of various baby toys littered the floor, as well as a mostly empty bottle of milk and a mug of cold tea on the coffee table. But then Kurt turned his attention to the couch, where there was a sleeping Blaine lying with a sleeping Matthew curled up on his chest. Kurt took in the way Blaine's soft curls stuck up slightly from where he was resting on the arm of the couch and the protective arm around the boy that had snuggled into his t-shirt.

"Blaine?" called Kurt softly, kneeling and stroking the man's cheek.

Blaine's eyes blinked open, staring blearily at Kurt for a moment before a slow smile made its way across his face.

"Kurt," he mumbled. "You're back."

"Yes," replied Kurt. "And it looks as though you two have had fun." He looked pointedly around at the mess.

"Crap," said Blaine suddenly, eyes wide. "I'm so sorry, I'll clean up, I-" Kurt cut him off with a soft kiss to his lips, realising with a jolt of his heart that he could just _do_ that now.

"This is nothing compared to some days I've had with Matthew, trust me," chuckled Kurt. "Was he okay?"

"Yeah," nodded Blaine, still lying down to not wake Matthew. "He didn't eat much of his lunch, but drank almost a whole bottle of milk."

"Better than yesterday," sighed Kurt, pressing a kiss to his son's slightly red cheek. "Did he cry?"

"Not much," smiled Blaine. "He seemed pretty tired."

"You could have just put him in his cot," said Kurt in amusement.

"But he's so cute and cuddly," whined Blaine, gently tightening his hold on the small boy. Kurt laughed and reached to brush a rogue curl from his forehead.

"Did you have lunch?" asked Kurt.

"I may...have forgotten..." muttered Blaine with a small embarrassed cough.

Kurt smiled and gently prised Matthew off Blaine's chest, shushing him when he let out a whine. "Come on," he said to Blaine, holding out a hand to him. "Let's have something to eat."

They had a glamorous meal of pasta and tomato sauce while Kurt simultaneously fed Matthew, Blaine watching him work as though he was mentally making notes for future reference.

"One more, Mattie, one more," encouraged Kurt as Matthew turned his head away from the plastic spoon. Kurt managed to persuade the boy into one last spoonful before he refused any more of the mushy food.

"Nahh!" Matthew held his arms up, flailing his little legs slightly. "Dada!"

Kurt beamed and hoisted his son from the high chair, settling him onto his lap as he finished the last few bites of his pasta. Blaine stood, dirty plate in hand and walked over to Kurt, picking up his plate to set on top of his own while leaning down and kissing Kurt on the forehead.

"I can do that," protested Kurt as Blaine began to wash them up.

"So can I," replied Blaine, throwing a grin over his shoulder.

Kurt sighed happily, nuzzling into Matthew's shoulder and watched Blaine roll up his sleeves to reveal rather lovely forearms.

* * *

**Sorry for the rubbishy filler chapter! Hopefully the next one will be more interesting!**

**If anyone is interested, my tumblr is **ludi-criss** with the rest of the url on the end obv. It's not terribly exciting, I'm afraid, but do feel free to check it out!  
**

**Much much much love,  
**

**From me.  
**


	14. Chapter 14

"If you could work for anyone or anything in the world, what would it be?" asked Blaine, resting his chin in his hands as he smiled softly across the table at Kurt.

"Ooh, that's a deep question for a Sunday morning," chuckled Kurt, cupping his take-away coffee cup in his hands. The coffee shop that Blaine had dragged a slightly bleary-eyed Kurt and an excitable Matthew to that morning was small and cosy with dark red walls and comfy chairs.

"Tell me," requested Blaine with an exaggerated eyelash flutter.

"Okay," laughed Kurt, taking a sip of his mocha. "I guess...I'd love to work in Fashion, maybe Vogue."

"Fashion?" repeated Blaine with a wide grin. "Do you design?"

"A little," shrugged Kurt.

"I guess I should have known," sighed Blaine with a smile. "You always dress so impeccably."

Kurt blushed a little, "I try."

"Dada!" demanded Matthew from where he was sat in a wooden highchair, gnawing on a crayon.

"That's a masterpiece, my darling," praised Kurt, examining his son's drawing with a bemused smile. "Look, Blaine, I think it's you." He gestured to the large swirly curls covering the majority of the page.

"Ha ha," deadpanned Blaine with a pout, reaching up to cover his mostly tamed curls.

"I love your curls," said Kurt softly, pulling Blaine's hands away from his head. Blaine smiled brilliantly at Kurt, not letting go of the other man's hands, resting them on the table.

"Oh, uhm, I meant to ask," said Blaine suddenly, clearing his throat and fidgeting a little. "Are you free next weekend?"

"Yes, I think so," nodded Kurt. "I was just planning to go and buy some new work shoes, my current ones are wearing through at the sole."

"I was wondering-hoping...you would accompany to my brother's wedding." Blaine pressed his lips together, watching Kurt's face closely for his reaction.

"Really?" asked Kurt quietly, mouth forming a small 'o'.

"Yeah," nodded Blaine. "I can't think of anyone I'd rather take...and Leo and Coop are both dying to meet you...so..."

"I'd love to," said Kurt, barely containing his delighted smile. Blaine opened his mouth to speak but Kurt cut him off with a gasp. "But Blaine! That leaves me with less than a week to find an outfit! Oh my God, okay..."

Blaine smiled fondly at the man across the table as he ran through the pros and cons of his favourite formal ensemble.

* * *

Kurt hummed quietly to himself as he washed his plate from dinner, standing it up in the drying rack as the doorbell chimed loudly.

"Coming!" he called, drying his hands on a tea towel and hoping the bell hadn't woken Matthew up, having only just put him to bed. Blaine knew to knock just in case, so he ruled out that possibility with a small pout. It was probably someone trying to sell something.

He opened the door which flew open as soon as Kurt twisted the handle.

Kurt wished his reactions had been quicker so that he could have slammed the door closed again as soon as he saw who was standing outside.

"Hey, beautiful," leered the man now stumbling into his flat, his words slurring slightly.

"What are you doing here?" cried Kurt desperately, mind set into a state of panic.

"Why'd you gotta be such a bitch, huh?" Nathan swung his hand up to grip Kurt's face, forcing him "Let me _go!_" screamed Kurt, pulling at the stronger man's hand.

Nathan kicked the front door closed behind him and lurched at Kurt, trying to press himself against the other man. Kurt squirmed to get away, the stench of alcohol overpowering on Nathan's breath.

"Stop," growled Nathan, grabbing Kurt's hair with a fist.

"No, no, leave me alone," whimpered Kurt. Why had he come back? Why did he have to ruin everything when life was finally looking up?

"Shut _up!_" yelled Nathan, pulling at Kurt's hair before using his grip to bash Kurt's head against the wall, twisting Kurt's arm behind his back.

Kurt screamed in pain as he heard a sickening _crack_ echo through his flat.

"L-leave me alone!" Kurt repeated, feeling dizzy and sick as white burning heat seized his arm.

"You'd be _nothing_ without me," muttered Nathan into his ear. "You're worthless and you're gonna die alone."

Kurt gasped in a breath, slumping to the floor as Nathan let go of him.

He heard a soft cry from the bedroom and Kurt snapped his head up.

"No," he breathed, his pounding head only registering one thing. Protect his son.

He pushed passed the drunkenly stumbling man, practically falling into the bedroom before slamming the door behind him and locking it.

Safe.

For now. There was a bash against the door.

Kurt picked up Matthew from his cot with the arm that wasn't dangling uselessly at his side, sending flashing pulses of pain through his body, and cradled him to his chest before sinking down into the corner.

"Shh, shh," soothed Kurt to his crying son, rocking him slightly. He settled the boy in his lap before fumbling clumsily for his phone. He took a deep breath and dialled three numbers, pressing the phone to his ear with a shaking hand. This was for Matthew. He needed his son to be safe.

"_Which service do you require?_" came a clear female voice.

"Police," breathed Kurt into the phone. "P-please," he begged.

* * *

Blaine yawned and stretched, standing up from the sofa and rubbing his eye with the heel of his hand. Picking up his phone he sent a quick goodnight text to Kurt before making his way to his bedroom. He had just pulled his pyjama top over his head when he phone began to ring.

He smiled to himself, perhaps Kurt wanted to wish him goodnight in person. His smile broadened as he saw the caller ID was indeed Kurt, a smiling picture of him looking up at Blaine from the screen.

"Hey, Kurt," he greeted cheerfully, pressing the phone to his ear while trying to find his pyjama bottoms.

"It's Burt," came a vaguely familiar voice, much deeper than Kurt's.

"Oh," said Blaine in surprise. "Hello, sir, is everything alright?"

"Not exactly," sighed Burt.

"Where's Kurt, is he alright?" Blaine gripped the phone with both hands, running through a thousand scenarios in his head.

"He's not in the best of ways," said Burt, worry etched deep into his voice. "Do you think you could come to the hospital? I think he might like you here."

"Which hospital?" demanded Blaine, already scrambling from the bedroom to find his shoes and keys.

* * *

Blaine's driving was verging on manic as he made his way to the hospital, gripping the wheel almost painfully as he had to wait for traffic lights. Finally he swerved into the car park, parking rather haphazardly before rushing into the hospital, ignoring the chilly evening air against his bare arms.

He saw Burt standing off to one side as he rushed into the waiting room, he approached him with slight trepidation.

"How-what...is he okay?" Blaine stumbled over his words. "Where's Matthew?"

"Matthew's with Carole, she's just trying to get him to sleep," started Burt, turning and gesturing for Blaine to follow. "Kurt's doing okay. Mild concussion and broken arm from what I've been told."

"Broken arm-what? What happened?" asked Blaine with wide eyes.

"I'll let him explain," said Burt, stopping outside one of the rooms and clapping a gentle hand on Blaine's shoulder. "Thanks for coming, Blaine."

Blaine nodded, "Anytime," he said firmly. Burt pushed open the door and the two men entered.

"Oh my God, _Kurt_," breathed Blaine, moving to the hospital bed in the middle of the room, upon which sat a rather battered-looking Kurt.

"Hey," replied Kurt quietly with a small smile.

"Kurt, what _happened_?" asked Blaine, ever-so-gently cupping the other man's jaw in his hand, taking in the bruising down one side of his face, partially covered by a clean white bandage that was wound around his forehead, and the cast that encased Kurt's left arm.

Kurt's blue eyes stared into his own before he said quietly, "Nathan."

Blaine closed his eyes, parting his lips to let out a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm.

"Blaine?" whispered Kurt hesitantly.

"You alright, bud?" asked the gruff voice of Burt, whom Blaine had forgotten was in the room.

Blaine nodded, his movements stiff and jerky, before opening his eyes and sinking down into the chair next to Kurt's bed, leaning his forehead against Kurt's right hand.

"Dad had a similar reaction," mumbled Kurt, moving the hand that Blaine had dropped his head onto to play with the rogue curls across the man's forehead. "But with more shouting."

"God, _Kurt_," whimpered Blaine, sitting up and gripping Kurt's right hand between both of his.

"Hey," said Kurt, twisting his hand so their fingers interlocked. "I'm okay, I promise."

Blaine looked up at Kurt with pure adoration in his eyes. "You're the strongest person I know," he whispered earnestly and Kurt's mouth fell open just slightly before be snapped it closed and gave Blaine a watery smile.

Neither of them noticed Burt leave the room.

* * *

Kurt was told he couldn't return to work until the cast on his arm was removed, as he was unable to carry trays and plates safely or even fit his arm into the sleeve of the uniform.

This sent Kurt into a fit of panic, realising no job would mean no money which meant he wasn't going to be able to provide for himself and Matthew. Blaine had calmed him down with a kiss to his cast and told him that the student they'd had manning the till in the music shop had quit and they were looking for someone else to hire.

"No uniform is required other than a little badge with your name, and all you'd be doing is transferring money from the customer to the till, so you wouldn't be putting any strain on your arm," said Blaine, looking quite pleased with this idea.

"Really?" asked Kurt with a grin before flinging himself at Blaine. "Thank you, you're the best," he sighed into the other man's shoulder.

"And this way I'll get to see you a whole lot more," murmured Blaine happily, hugging him back after making sure Kurt was being careful with his arm.

* * *

Kurt was discharged from the hospital with stitches in his forehead, a dark coloured cast around his arm (_"This colour will go best with the suit I'm planning to wear for the wedding, Blaine."_), and a cream for the bruising on his face.

"Even with purple blotches on your face you look stunning," assured Blaine when he caught Kurt staring at himself in the mirror, pulling him away with arms around his waist. "But if you want I can kiss it better?"

"I dunno..." sighed Kurt dramatically. "It's a big bruise, it might require lots of kissing."

Kurt giggled as Blaine peppered his face with lots of little pecks.

"Stunning," repeated Blaine quietly against his cheek.

* * *

**Sorry for taking so long with this! And after all that you get such a rushed chapter, my deepest apologies!  
**

**But this story is NEARLY at 200 reviews! This is incredibly exciting...perhaps you should...help me out here...**

**You are all LOVELY, thank you for reading and actually sticking through this with me. :)**


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